Indention of the Heart
by ThatPanicGirlE
Summary: Bella deals with her nasty divorce from her overbearing husband. One night out on the town to celebrate her divorce, she meets someone new who understands her problem. OOC/AU/AH. Lemon/Lang.
1. Chapter 1

**-- Indention of the Heart --**

**OOC/AU/AH  
**

**ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: I've had this in my head for quite sometime. I couldn't quite fit in the bad guy/good guy characters that I wanted in it and after I saw this REALLY hot picture of Jackson Rathbone it finally hit me. I was born and raised in the South and there are so many southern gentlemen around here who are more than willing to scoop a girl up and take care of them... especially when you see Bella in the situation she's in.**

**This is written as a test to see if I can get away from the Bella/Jacob genre of stories and dive into other characters. **

**This story is dedicated to a couple of people who taught me that moving on from things is the best way to go through life. Holding onto the past isn't always healthy and so this is for JenniP, my beta, friend and confidant; Chris, my BFF for who gives me support even when he has no idea what the hell I'm talking about; for Cathy, my editor at the paper who despite what she thinks, is the most awesome birthday sharer a girl could have; and last but not least, this is dedicated to you, the readers. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Abandon hit 40,000 hits this week and I was in tears from overwhelming happiness.**

**I lastly have to dedicate this story to two writers who influenced me to write. Angstgoddess003 and HunterHunting are two of THE best damn fan fiction writers around and after reading their work, I'm almost half embarrassed to even post anything.**

**I got the idea for this from my great-grandmother's engagement ring that has created and indention on my finger. When I removed it to clean the diamond the other day, I noticed a small indention in my finger. I cannot imagine what it would be like to see that there day in and day out after removing a wedding band due to a divorce or losing your loved one.**

**I know I'm going to cry during this story, but I'm actually ok with it. It'll be healthy to cry.**

**So without further wait... Indention of the Heart....**

**BellaPOV**

"Mrs. Isabella Cullen"

The outside envelope made me giggle a little. Who could have known that in less than twenty-four hours my name would change?

I couldn't believe that after all the years of struggles and having to put up with Edward's bullshit I would have finally been back to me.

Bella Swan.

I missed my maiden name as I stared down at the envelope. Inside this heavy, brown ticket to my freedom was the one thing I couldn't wait for.

They were my divorce papers, and even though the mere thought of the word almost brought me to tears. I couldn't help feeling a small bit of joy out of it. I was the product of a broken home, and I thanked God every single day that I had not brought a child into this world to suffer the way I did when my parents split.

I loved Edward more than anything on this earth. I wasn't sure that marrying him so early on in our relationship had been the best idea, but he was insistent upon it. He loved me so much, or at least that's what he claimed.

I just think he hated the thought of anyone else having me. He was my first everything. He was my first love, my first sexual experiences and now my first heartache. I'd never even been with another man, and as I crept closer to my 23rd birthday, I knew that I could fully experience life for the first time. It wasn't like I would go out and find a new guy each night – I wasn't that kind of girl. I just wanted to know what it felt like to have someone else hold me.

And hopefully not be so damn overbearing.

I first realized how completely overbearing he was the night he knocked out Tyler Crowley for accidentally grazing my ass at a small reunion we held for our friends. Tyler meant absolutely no harm, but Edward went into complete freak out mode and punched him square in the nose. I am still apologizing to Tyler for Edward's barbaric behavior.

At first, it seemed sweet that he was so protective over me, but eventually, I couldn't put up with it anymore. The night I asked for the divorce was the hardest night of my life. Edward's reaction was the part that worried me the most. He was so calm about it all. He didn't show any emotion whatsoever, and that made it easier for me.

If he wasn't hurting on the outside, I could do this.

I packed my belongings and moved from Seattle back to Forks, Washington. My father, Charlie, was the chief of police for the sleepy little town, and he was so happy to have me move back in. I expected a ton of I told you so's to hit me the minute I arrived, but instead he only said that my bed was made up and that he had an extra dresser drawer available if I needed it.

Charlie was so good about keeping his mouth shut until he really needed to speak up about something.

I took a job at the school as an English teacher. Everyone there – the teachers, principal, other faculty – loved the idea that I came back to town to teach. I guess when people leave, they don't normally come back. I was the exception to the rule, twice.

I moved here in my junior year of high school. That's when I met Alice Cullen. She was my complete and total opposite. She was smaller than I was with short black hair, beautiful figure and great fashion sense. She took me under her wing, and we became the best of friends. Then she introduced me to her brother, Edward, and that's when the sparks flew.

Alice, despite the fact that I was divorcing her brother, remained my loyal friend. She claimed she was Switzerland, and that she would be neutral during the whole break up. She kept true to her word.

She was happy that I would get my freedom. She knew how Edward treated me and had talked to him about it on several occasions, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't budge with his behavior, so it was all on him.

It's not like he wasn't warned.

I realized I had stood for almost ten minutes in the driveway of our small house staring at the envelope when my pocket buzzed. My cell was going off and I instantly knew who it was.

"Hello, Miss Swan," a small voice said on the other line.

"Not quite yet," I said back to Alice.

"Well, the day you left, you were Miss Swan. Keep that in mind. So the papers arrived?"

"How did…"

"Hello, I know everything. Well that, and I see you standing in your driveway with a huge brown envelope."

I looked over and saw her sitting in her car. I shut the phone and laughed. She jumped out of her car and skipped over to me. No matter what, Alice skipped. I've tried to figure out how on earth she can have so much energy.

"So, are we still going out to Port Angeles tonight?" she mused.

"I really don't know. Have you spoken to Angela, Jessica or Rosalie?"

Jessica Stanley Newton, Angela Weber Yorkie and Rosalie Hale Cullen were good friends of mine. Rosalie and I didn't exactly hit it off when I first moved here, but she was in our little group of girls so she kind of stuck with us. She was now married to Emmett Cullen, Alice and Edward's brother and technically my sister-in-law by marriage. She didn't blame me one bit for the divorce. To be honest, I don't think anyone did. Even Edward's parents were still loving and open towards me.

Angela married Eric Yorkie, and Jessica married Mike Newton, who was also my divorce lawyer. The shit really hit the fan when Mike had to tell his dad that he wasn't taking over the family run outfitters store and wanted to become a lawyer. After his dad saw how well he did with it, not another word was spoken about it.

"Well, why don't you call them and see if they'll meet you at the club? I'm going upstairs. I have a surprise for you," Alice said.

It was the first time I realized that she carried a garment bag in her arms with a box of shoes. This worried me – big time.

I came down later, adorned in the shortest black dress ever with the highest black heels ever. Alice was either secretly pissed at me for divorcing her brother and this was her torture, or she was trying to get me laid.

The moment I stepped on the bottom step, she squealed.

"Bella, look at you. You are so hot. If I were a guy, I would for sure take you home tonight."

Yup, she was trying to get me laid.

"Thanks Alice, but I'm not going home with anyone tonight except three awesome amazing girls who have done more than their fair share for me."

Tears welled up in my eyes, and Alice stopped me before I could let them slip out.

"Stop it Bella, you are going to ruin your make up. I don't think you'll attract guys with raccoon eyes."

She grabbed me by the hand as we walked out the door towards the car.

**Jasper POV**

The waves of emotions hit me like the biggest seawall. As I stared at the gold wedding band on my left ring finger, I couldn't bear to remove it. I knew it was time. As of eight this morning, I was no longer married to the girl of my dreams. Charlotte Whitlock; the woman of my dreams was no longer mine.

I didn't know what to think about it. I wanted to try to make things work between us, but I couldn't. She didn't want to be with me anymore. She had found someone else, and even though I would have fought for her love, it wasn't enough to keep her with me. Once you are no longer needed, it's best to bow out like a gentleman and fade away.

As a single tear hit my wedding band, I knew it was time.

I stood staring outside the window of my small apartment in Port Angeles. Tonight, my best friend of four years and others were taking me out. They figured I could use a night on the town, but I just didn't know if I was ready or not.

I heard a knock at the door, and I wiped the rest of my tears away. I cleared my throat as I said, "Coming."

The banging got louder on my door, "Damn it, I said I was coming."

"Sorry, Jazz. I thought you backed out on us."

Standing before me were my guys – Emmett Cullen, my best friend, and his crew of meat heads, Sam Uley, Jacob Black and Embry Call. They all looked alike. Their muscles were huge, and I wasn't surprised. I think they spent more time at the gym than they did with their beautiful wives.

I was shocked that Emmett was taking me out at all. I thought Emmett would need to be there for his brother, who also faced the same fate as me the next day. His wife had left him after so many years of marriage and a great relationship – or what I thought was a great relationship. I had never met her. Emmett said she was a great girl and that he was sad to see it end.

From what I understood, he wasn't exactly the best to her.

I was raised in the South where men treated their women like gold. That's how I had treated Charlotte, so I guess no matter how you treated a woman, as long as she has her mind made up, there wasno changing it.

"Nah, I guess I do need this. Give me a second."

I ran straight to my bathroom, brushed my teeth as fast as I could, brushedsome stuff through my blond curls to keep them from being so damn curly and took off my wedding band. I figured now was as good a time as ever.

I headed straight for the door, and Emmett was the only one still waiting for me.

"Jazz, are you sure you are up to this?" Emmett asked in a caring way.

"Sure, we need to do this. I need to do this. How else am I supposed to move on?"

Emmett looked down at my hand. He could still see where the ring left an indentation in my finger."I'm glad to see you finally took it off. That's the first step in the right direction."

He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. Then patted me on the back, pushing me out the door. He slammed it behind us as we walked towards the club.

My apartment location had its advantages. There were tons of places to eat and party around my area, and we decided to go out for drinks.

We entered this club two blocks over, and as soon as we got there, Emmett slipped the doorman a hundred. We were immediately moved upstairs to the VIP room. There weren't many tables up there, and we seemed to be one of three parties. Emmett glanced over and laughed.

"Well I see Rosalie and them decided this would be their celebration point tonight also. I guess I have to be on my best behavior."

I looked over to the table full of girls. I saw Rosalie, three girls we went to school with and his sister Alice.

"Damn man, you really have to be on your best behavior. Alice is here too."

He shook his head, "Figures."

I laughed. As I recovered from the mere fact that Emmett couldn't act like a wild guy tonight, I noticed a face that didn't seem familiar to me.

She looked… uncomfortable. She had her hands folded on the table. All the girls around her were talking up a storm, and she looked absolutely miserable. She was sipping hard on the mixed drink that sat in front of her. I noticed three empty ones on the table next to her, and my first instinct was that she was trying to drown her misery.

She looked like she could cry at the drop of a hat, and it worried me that she felt so sad. All her friends who surrounded her didn't even take notice.

Emmett slapped my back and knocked me back into reality.

"So, Jasper, what is your poison of choice tonight?"

"I'll take a Jack and coke."

He left me to head to the bar as I took my seat at the table, my eyes staying focused on the girl who seemed so unhappy.

As the night dragged on, we drank and talked. Emmett did more than his fair share of toasting towards me and my freedom. Rosalie kept looking over at him and each time she did, he immediately straightened up. It was so funny to see such a big man completely whipped by a girl half his size. He loved her though and would do anything to keep her happy. That was what made me appreciate his friendship. He knew how to treat people with dignity and respect.

I admit it. I thought of Charlotte so many times during the night. Each girl that walked below us in the regular part of the club looked like her. Being there was becoming my own personal hell, and I almost excused myself so many times to go home. I didn't though. I knew that I needed to stick it out. It would help.

The drinks kept coming, and before I realized it, I was totally fucked. My mind began to spin as the rest of the bar spun in the opposite direction, and then I had to take a piss.

Emmett laughed as I stood up, knocking over empty beer bottles on my way away from the table.

"Do you need help, Jasper?" Sam asked.

"Nah, I think … I got it." I answered, slurring my words.

They were all laughing at me. Yes, I was completely slammed. The door to the bathroom hallway seemed to move each time I reached for it, but as soon as I rounded the corner of the small hallway, I knew I was going to be ok if I could just get through the men's bathroom door.

The door slammed behind me and I locked it. I stood up against the urinal and pissed like a fucking race horse. It seemed to not stop. Finally, after I finally pissed all the alcohol out of my system-well not really- I fought my way back to the bathroom door.

I unlocked it and slammed it open.

I stuck out my head to see if anyone was coming. It was embarrassing enough that I couldn't even stand on my own two feet.

Sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the hallway was the beautiful brunette from Rosalie's table. Her face was in her hands, and she was crying.

She looked so unhappy as she sat up against the wall. Her long brown hair flowed around her shoulders creating a curtain to hide her away from the world. My heart felt like it was breaking right along with hers.

I debated for a minute on whether to go talk to her. I figured she needed someone to talk to. The entire night her girlfriends, while having with the best of intentions for bringing her out, barely paid any attention to her. She drowned her own sorrows and I knew then that she needed my assistance. Leave it to me to be the forever southern gentleman.

I stumbled towards her, and once I arrived, I sat down next to her.

She didn't even look towards me.

I didn't know what to say to her. I had so many questions. I wanted to know what it was that made her so unhappy and why she was alone. I wanted to know why she felt it necessary to disappear from her friends.

Then I saw her left hand.

She had the same indention on hers that I had on mine, and it began to make sense.

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you ok?"

She peered through her hair at me.

"I will be, eventually," she said as she sniffled.

"Do you want me to get your friends?" I asked.

"No. It wouldn't matter. It's not like they are paying me any attention tonight anyway. They are all so caught up in their happy worlds with their perfect marriages."

She began to cry harder. She put her head on my shoulders, and it was mere instinct to put my arm around her and hold her. She looked like she needed a hug.

She responded and nuzzled up against me.

Together, this beautiful stranger and I shared a common bond. I knew she was recently divorced. You don't get those indentions on your finger like that unless you wore a wedding band for so long.

She just sat in my arms for what seemed like forever. I was perfectly content holding her there.

"Bella, there you are. You had us so worried," Rosalie shouted.

She jumped and stood up, almost stumbling over the insanely high heels she wore.

I stood up quickly to help steady her before she fell to the ground.

"Jasper Whitlock, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Rosalie fussed at me.

"She was crying. I was only trying to help."

"Keep your paws off, do you understand?" she spat at me.

She dragged Bella away. Bella took one glance back as Rosalie gathered the rest of the girls and they left, almost carrying Bella down the steps.

I stood watching this beautiful sad creature slip away from me.

"Jasper, what the hell did you do to piss Rose off?" Emmett asked as he joined me.

"She was crying. I was only trying to console her."

"Yeah poor Bella, she's taking the divorce a lot harder than I thought."

"Who is she?" I asked.

"That's Bella, Edward's soon to be ex-wife. The divorce will be final at eight in the morning."

I knew how she felt. I couldn't help but worry about the pain she felt. If it was anything like the way I felt, I wouldn't have wished it on my worst enemy.

* * *

**REVISED A/N: I have to say a HUGE thanks to cereuleanblue****, my newfound beta! She had this chapter back to me in a flash and I am TOTALLY stoked to have her on board.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 2  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: I have never in my life expected such overwhelming anticipation for writing a story. Abandon was my first love and this is slowly becoming my second. I actually sit around the house during my free time and think up the dialogue for this story. Yesterday on my ride to the country to visit a friend, I rode shotgun and wrote then entire forty minute drive long hand in a notebook. It was a rough draft of this chapter.**

**Below is the playlist that I've started for this story. The first song, The Band's "The Shape I'm In" and Dashboard Confessional's "Screaming Infidelities" are Jasper's songs to this story while Widespread Panic's "Her Dance Needs No Body" and Austin Crane's "Find Our Places" are Bella's songs.**

**http://www(.)mixpod(.)com/playlist/40937996 (remove the() )**

**BellaPOV**

"Ow, mother fu…dger," I yelled as I lifted my pounding head out of bed the next morning. I had to catch myself before I screamed a string of obscenities. The yellow curtains in my room reminded me that I wasn't in Seattle anymore but in my small bed at my dad's house. Charlie wasn't exactly keen on the F-bomb being dropped at the house. I knew the feeling of a jackhammer in my brain came from the copious amount of alcohol I had drowned my tears in the night before.

I don't remember getting into bed or how on earth I ended up in a pair of clean pajamas. I don't even remember the car ride back from Port Angeles or how I managed to walk down the steps of the VIP in those ridiculously tall high heels as drunk as I was.

I do however remember his face.

I had to get away from the girls for a bit. Their over indulgence of happy chatter about their perfect lives and perfect husbands was becoming too much for me to even digest. It's a tough pill to swallow when you realize that out of your friends, you are now the only single one. By the sixth round of vodka and Redbull , I was ready to fly off a roof if it meant they would finally shut the hell up.

I excused myself from the table as I stumbled towards the restroom. I don't think they realized I was gone. All I could hear was Rose going on and on about the new addition to the huge house they just bought outside of Port Angeles.

I did my business, and as I stood in front of the sink, I used the countertop to brace myself. I saw the many of lines developing over my eyebrows and the bloodshot look of my eyes that came from entirely too many sleepless nights crying over my decisions. The mirror was not forgiving. I had started to develop dark circles under my eyes, and I looked absolutely horrible. My eyeliner had even begun to fade away from my eyes revealing even more things to find wrong about myself.

My conscience began to take over and started to play dirty tricks with my already bruised psyche.

_How on earth could anyone begin to find me attractive with the way I look right now? I am in such horrible shape. Look at my eyes._

I stared more into the face of a girl I hardly recognized anymore.

I glanced down before I found entirely too many things wrong with my looks. I noticed my left hand where the indention of a long worn wedding band had left its mark. It was staring back at me as I felt the sadness welling up in my heart once again. The pain ripped through my chest like a poison arrow as the tears dripped down my cheeks. A single tear hit my ring finger and shimmered in the light just like the four carat diamond ring that I had once worn there.

I still remember Edward getting down on one knee in our special meadow asking me to marry him. Back then, he was so sweet, caring and never once did I ever imagine our life together would be completely over. That ring was supposed to symbolize forever. My forever was broken now, just like my heart as it shattered into a million pieces as I realized for the first time that it was really over between us.

_What have I done?_

"What have I done…?" I whispered out loud.

I'd had enough of the night's festivities. I couldn't handle one more moment in that bar, so I stumbled out of the restroom determined to go home with what was left of my broken heart. Leave it to Steve Madden to design heels that weren't designed for the uncoordinated or women in self-medicated drunken stupors. My balance was lost once I hit the carpet in the hallway in front of the restrooms, and I fell to the ground.

I looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed my embarrassing tumble, and thank God no one was around. I crawled over to the wall and drew my legs up to my chest, folded my arms over my knees and shoved my head into my arms, sobbing as hard as I could.

My long brown hair fell around my shoulders and created a curtain hiding me away from the rest of the outside world. I prayed that I wouldn't be noticed for a while. I needed a moment to myself, but then I felt a presence next to me. All of a sudden the most beautiful voice said, "Ma'am, are you okay?"

His voice had a Southern feel to it, and I found it instantly soothing.

"I will be eventually," I said.

I knew this to be true. My mother and father both eventually got over the actual divorce itself. The loneliness was a completely different story. Mom got remarried to a man extremely younger than herself, but my dad never remarried. I watched him grow more and more lonely each day, and the thought of ending up like that wasn't helping my situation any.

The overwhelming grief hit me again as he asked if he could get my friends. I told him no and began to cry harder. He put his arm around me as though he understood that all I needed was to be told that I was okay, everything was going to be fine and that eventually the pain would pass.

This stranger who held me in his arms never spoke another word but held me tight against him as the tears fell into his chest. I began to calm down as I took a deep breath.

I nestled my head deeper into his chest, and I soon realized that I could have fallen asleep right where I sat never complaining one bit about it.

My thoughts of slumber with this stranger were annoyingly interrupted by Rosalie's loud mouth.

The moment I heard her voice, I was so embarrassed that I was nestled up next to someone I didn't even know and tried my damndest to stand. I couldn't quite make it up fast enough and almost stumbled back to the ground, but my partner in grief helped me up.

Rosalie began to yell at him and even mentioned his name.

All I could remember from that point on was his name.

Jasper.

The last name didn't register with me. I suppose I could look up our yearbook or even check the school records when I started the job at school on Monday. Rosalie seemed to know him well enough to call him by his first and last name. I could have asked her, but then I would have died from sheer embarrassment.

My alarm clock buzzed loudly scaring the living bejeezus out of me. My heart fell to my feet as I realized it was eight in the morning.

As of that moment, I was a free and single woman.

The mere thought of the word "single" made me choke up a bit. I was so wrapped up in my Jasper induced delusion that I almost completely forgot that today was the day.

My attorney was meeting with Edward's today to discuss the finalities of our divorce. We had signed the papers a week ago, but everything had to be cleared with the judge this morning. We didn't have to be there thanks to Edward not fighting me over anything. I didn't ask for anything, so he had nothing to fight me for.

Sitting across from Edward for that last formal meeting was the worst thing ever. He still showed no emotion. I had begun to question if he even cared about me at all, or if I had been an object he hadn't wanted to share like some kind of mean kindergartener.

I'd barely slept a wink since that day, and last night was the best sleep I'd had, even if it was from drinking entirely too much.

I tried to climb out of bed to get some Tylenol for my massive headache, but I couldn't even make it that far. Instead, I put my aching head back on the pillow and thought about the locks of blonde curls that I had seen between the gaps in my curtain of brown hair. I thought of his voice, and the way he soothed me just by sitting next to my broken self.

I glanced back up at the clock again, and it was two minutes past eight in the morning. I had only been a free woman for two minutes and already was thinking of another guy.

This could not be good for me… or for him.

Jasper POV

I could barely lift my eyelids as I tried to comprehend exactly why I was lying on my stomach in an awkward position. My couch, though great to sit on, wasn't exactly comfortable to use as a bed, but somehow or another I ended up here last night.

My right arm was buried deep in the coushins, while my left arm was asleep from hanging off the edge of the couch all night long. I finagled my way out, using only my right arm to lift me. As the feeling returned to my other arm, I sat on the couch trying to remember everything that happened the night before.

I brushed my sweat soaked curls behind my ears as I stared at the walls of my small apartment. I did not have a hangover which was a complete shock to me considering how much I had to drink the night before.

Emmett and the boys dropped me off at my apartment after Bella was rushed out of the club by her friends.

Bella.

I don't know what had come over me, but I couldn't help but get close to her. I was drawn to her like bugs to a light, and when she put her head on my chest, I could have let her stay there forever.

Rosalie just had to ruin the moment. Watching her walk away was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to endure.

Wait, second most. The most was losing my wife to another man.

I sniffed my shirt and realized I smelled of alcohol and smoke from the club. I desperately needed a shower. I rose, removing my shirt on the way to the shower. I stripped down to my boxers and stood at the mirror in my bathroom.

_I am much too young to go through something like this._

I grabbed my shaving cream and soaked my face in it as I ran the hot water for my shower. I'd always worn my face clean shaven, but recently it had been hard for me to maintain. I couldn't quite make myself get up for a while to shave. The depression over all the events recently kept me from even performing simple upkeep for myself.

I quickly shaved and showered. I slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, my comfortable loafers, and headed out for the day.

I had promised Emmett I would come over for the day and help him with some of the renovations that he and Rosalie had started on. I had a sincere feeling that a contractor would eventually get called out, but I'd worked as a carpenter for many years in Atlanta, Georgia so I could help with some of the detailed work.

I made a modest living working in the South. I mostly redesigned historical houses, and once I'd saved enough money, Charlotte finally agreed to marry me. It took forever for her to even accept the engagement. That should have been the first red flag.

I was asked to move out West and help repair some of the houses that were destroyed by wildfires in California. Charlotte agreed to pack up and move with me to the West coast, and that was the eventual downfall of our relationship.

We'd lived in California for only a month before she began to get homesick. I told her she should go visit family back in Georgia.

She took a flight out of LAX and never returned.

From that poin on, everything led me down a path of self destruction. I drank entirely too much and found myself passing out in my chair each night from the over-indulgence and self-loathing.

Emmett and Rosalie came out for a visit one weekend and saw what horrible shape I was in. They said that I needed to be around friends. I packed up and moved right away to Port Angeles and took a job as a general contractor.

I got into my Jeep and headed straight for Emmett's house. I tried listening to the radio to drown out my thoughts of Bella, but each time they kept flooding back. Everything, from the way she smelled to even the way she looked as she cried, was so attractive to me. Her face buried into my chest was the best feeling ever. I had not been with another woman since Charlotte, and even though I'm sure I could have, I hadn't wanted to be with another woman.

That was until now.

My thoughts were quickly dismantled as I approached the house.

I loved the house Rose and Emmett were rebuilding. It was an old Victorian style house with six bedrooms. Rosalie wanted a huge family, and they had been trying for over a year now. Emmett confessed that he was scared she wouldn't be able to have kids, and I'd told him there was always adoption.

Emmett knew all too well what it was like. He, Edward and Alice had all been adopted.

I pulled into the cobblestone drive of their house and noticed a silver Volvo parked at the front of the house. I knew it had to be one of the Cullens. Not many people around here drove those kinds of vehicles.

I walked up the steps of the huge house and almost fell through the first step. I quickly recovered and pulled out a small notebook. I jotted down the first thing I'd noticed that needed to be fixed right away before someone broke their neck.

I walked across the porch carefully to the front door. I rang the doorbell, and it made an awful shrieking noise. The front door slung open, and there was Alice.

"Jasper," she said as she hugged me. "I haven't seen you since, well last night, but I haven't talked to you in forever. How are you?"

"I'm as good as I could be I guess. You haven't changed since the last time I saw you."

She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into the house. I still loved the way the foyer looked. Every single wall was completely redone in old cherry wood and the floors matched. I looked up towards the ceiling and noticed they finally replaced the almost falling down chandelier.

Alice's husband, Aro was a well-to-do Italian interior designer who worshiped the ground she walked on. Even though I thought he was much too old for her, he took really good care of her, and she seemed to be madly in love with him. They had so much in common, and even though at first I thought he didn't like women, I soon realized he was just eccentric.

I found him sitting in the kitchen at the table with Rosalie as they poured over some plans for the kitchen. They both looked up at me as I entered the room. Aro adorned a huge smile as Rose scoured at me. I could not figure out why she looked at me like I'd just ran over her cat, but then I remembered.

Bella.

She was still angry with me for what she probably thought was me groping her friend. I sat down at the table and said, "Rose, please don't be angry with me. I wasn't doing anything, I swear."

Aro looked confused as I spoke to her. "What did you do Jasper?"

Rosalie looked at him with pleading eyes to keep his mouth shut and then glanced behind me. When I looked behind me to see what she was staring at, I soon figured it out.

Edward Cullen crept up with a mug of coffee in his hand. He hadn't changed much since high school. He still had his unusually great looks with longer than normal auburn hair. He had dark circles under his eyes.

I noticed on his left hand, the place where the indention should have been for his wedding band, considering he was officially divorced as of this morning, was non-existent. I scoffed at the idea of letting that beautiful angel get away so easily.

"I don't believe it. Jasper Whitlock, what's it been, six years since I saw you last?" Edward said as he stuck out his hand for mine. I shook it despite wanting to slap him upside the back of his head for being such an idiot.

"I do believe it has," I said back. The tension and the uncomfortable feelings that reeled around me could have been cut with a knife, and I didn't realize I hadn't let go of his hand until Rose spoke up.

"Jazz, why don't you go find Emmett upstairs in the green room? He needs help measuring the windowsills."

I dropped my gaze from Edward's and nodded. I darted up the steps of the foyer to the second floor. I heard Emmett cussing up a storm. Apparently, things weren't going so well for him.

I peered into the doorway of the green room, which was named because the walls were painted a horrible pea soup green and saw Emmett trying to steady a tape measure. I laughed, and he looked towards the door.

"Yeah you laugh it up, and I'll throw you out the window." I knew he wouldn't do it, but threats of physical violence were Emmett's only way of releasing his frustration.

I walked to the other side of the windows and helped him measure them. Once we got that done, I wanted so badly to ask him questions about Bella, but I had no way of figuring out how.

Luckily, I didn't even need to bring the subject up.

"Jazz, man, what the hell was up with you cuddling up to Bella Swan last night? Rosalie got home last night and was pretty upset with you. She thought you were trying to take advantage of a drunken and lonely female. I tried to calm her down, but she's ready to pounce on you."

I shook my head. "Emmett, man, listen. I had nothing but respect for her last night. I saw her crying, went down to see if she needed anything, and she cuddled up to me. She was so sad, and it was breaking my heart."

I looked out the window over the huge expanse of their massive estate.

"I tried to tell Rosalie that, but I'm afraid you'll have to say something yourself. She's ready to string you up by your toes."

I laughed. "I tried, but your brother made an appearance in the kitchen so I couldn't say anything."

Emmett sighed. "Edward hasn't been much help today. All he has done is talk crap about Bella leaving him, and Rosalie is just as frustrated with him, more so maybe. He wasn't supposed to even be here this weekend. He just showed up."

I felt a surge of anger rip through me. How dare he be angry with her when he's the one that treated her like shit?

I looked at Emmett as my face began to change a hundred shades of red.

"He's complaining, and yet she's the one hurting. Doesn't he realize what this is doing to her too?"

Emmett rolled his eyes, "Jasper, calm down. You barely know her, and yet it seems as though…" Then, he threw his had back and laughed, "You have a crush on her don't you?"

I turned to him. I had no clue how to answer this question.

I shrugged, "I don't know to be honest. She's adorable, and I feel like I completely understand how she feels. I just think we have a common bond is all."

He smiled. "Well either way, you two might help each other out."

"Do you have anything else that needs to be measured?" I asked changing the subject.

He nodded and led me to the next room.

Bella POV

Alice called me soon after I woke with a pounding headache asking if I would like to join her and Rosalie at the estate for lunch. Despite not wanting to budge from my bed, I agreed and got ready for the day.

Charlie had already left. He and his fishing buddies were headed for the lake to do their normal Saturday fishing, and I took my sweet time getting to the estate. I had no desire to be around happy people today, but I figured I would have to get used to it.

I finally got into my dad's old Chevy truck and drove up the long winding road just outside of Forks to the estate that Emmett and Rosalie had purchased. I couldn't believe they'd gotten such a large house, but Rosalie's desire for a huge family was what drove the purchase. I couldn't wait for her to have children.

She was going to make a great mother.

Rosalie's ability to take care of her friends only showed her motherly instincts even more. After her showing last night at the club, I couldn't find it in myself to be angry with her. She was being a mother hen protecting one of her own.

I turned down the cobblestone drive of the estate and nearly put the car in reverse to got the hell out of there at the sight of Edward's car in the drive. Though, I knew that eventually I would have to see him and put on my brave persona. It's not like I couldn't act civilized.

I just wondered if he could.

I walked up the wobbly steps of the front porch and noticed there was a gaping hole in one of the steps. I hoped no one had fallen through.

I rang the doorbell, and it made an awful sound. I hope someone made a note of that for it to be fixed along with the horrible hole that someone could have killed themselves on.

The door swung open and standing in front of me was my once upon a time "reason to exist" and now "wanted to flee at the sight of."

"I didn't know you were coming over today," Edward said as he stood with a vacant expression on his face. The stone cold statue still could show no emotion.

"I didn't know you were going to be here either. Alice didn't say a word about you joining our little party today," I replied with questioning eyes.

He stepped out of the way as I entered the foyer of the beautiful house.

"Everyone is in the kitchen," he said as he led me through the long hallway to the soon to be remodeled kitchen.

I saw Rosalie and Alice sitting with Alice's husband and amazing designer, Aro.

Alice stood up and ran straight to me. She wrapped her tiny arms around me embracing me in a loving hug.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered.

"As good as I can be," I whispered back.

Rosalie motioned for me to sit. She had an uncomfortable look on her face.

"So what are we planning for lunch today ladies," I asked, ignoring the fact that my now ex-husband was in the same room as us.

Alice smiled back as she realized the game I was playing. If I acted like it wasn't bothering me either, then maybe Edward would get the hint and leave.

"I was thinking I could make my mom's excellent chicken salad, and we could eat out on the veranda," Alice said.

Rosalie nodded.

"I think that's a great idea. Will Aro, Edward and Emmett be joining us?"

"Joining what?" I heard a voice say.

I looked at the doorway where Edward stood leaning and watched as Emmett entered the kitchen.

"We were discussing lunch," I said.

"Actually, you girls go ahead. I think after a frustrating morning of measuring windows I'll get out for a while, if that's cool with you, hon?" he said as he looked towards Rosalie.

"Thanks fine babe, be back before too long. We've got to pick out window treatments with Aro."

Emmett looked thrilled to death. Maybe that's not completely true. He looked horrified.

I heard a laugh come out of the hallway, and whoever it was approached the kitchen area. I saw loafers first and then a wave of long blonde curls as they passed by Edward's shoulder.

"Emmett picking out window treatments is the funniest vision I've had in a while," a Southern inspired voice said.

A flush of red fell across my face as soon as I realized who it was, and the tension in the room got increasingly thicker.

His eyes got wide and his cheeks turned a bright shade of red too.

Alice cleared her throat and said, "Bella, how about you help me gather up the items from the fridge for the chicken salad? I want to teach you how to make it just in case you ever need to entertain."

I nodded, not breaking my gaze with Jasper.

If she wouldn't have spoken, I never even would have realized there were other people in the room with Jasper and me.

I had even forgotten about Edward standing right in front of me.

The boys excused themselves and Jasper gracefully bowed out of the room like the true gentleman he was.

He winked at me as he exited, and with that one simple gesture, Jasper began mending my shattered heart, and he hadn't even realized it.

**A/N: I had more than my fair share of fun writing this chapter. As sad as it was to write, I felt a huge weight lifting off my shoulders.**

**Big thanks to Jenni P (author of Pas De Deux) as always for giving me the push to write. **

**I think a really big thanks needs to be given to Austin Crane. He's a singer/songwriter out of my lovely state, South Carolina. His album, "I know my hands" is available on iTunes for download and it was the catalyst to help get my mind focused on writing again. I've had the hardest time forming complete sentences on paper for the past couple of months and this album broke me free of my writer's block. So this chapter is totally dedicated to him.**

**Comments make me feel like a giddy little school girl who gets to see her crush again. I promise to make Jasper say hello to Bella next time instead of winking at her.**

**Quit being such a pansy Jazz and say hi next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 3  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: I. Am. Died. I woke up this morning to over a thousand hits on this story in just three days. Do you guys know how this makes me feel? I can't even put into words the immense amounts of love I have for each and every single one of you. **

**All of you wanted more Jasper/Bella interaction, so here it comes. Hope I don't disappoint. All the characters in this story were written by Mrs. SM. My version of Jasper though was written based on a southern hottie I'm friends with. Yeah, he's pretty darn cute. Don't forget to check out my blogspot. thatpanicgirle(dot)blogspot(dot)com. I'm getting a total and complete overhaul for my website so... look for it in the future. I have a special person doing it for me and I don't wanna say any names but this is like the hugest thing ever for me.**

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JasperPOV**

"You know, some sort of warning would have been nice," I said to Emmett as we climbed into his oversized Jeep. Edward was following with Aro in his car. I was quite glad he decided to drive separate from me and Emmett.

"What do you mean some sort of warning? I had no idea she was going to be here either. I was just as shocked as you were."

I stared out of the window as we drove into Port Angeles. My thoughts wandered to Bella. She looked beautiful through the tiredness that I saw in her eyes. She looked like she hasn't slept a wink in days, maybe weeks. I wanted to talk to her. I needed to know how she felt and if there was anything I could do to make her feel better. I could think of a lot of ways to make her feel better.

My mind started to wander where it shouldn't go. I'm sure there was no way on earth she was allowing herself to get close to another guy for quite some time. Divorces and breakups can do that to a person. I know I sure as hell didn't want to be around another female when Charlotte called to say she wanted a divorce.

I couldn't help but notice the tension between her and Edward, even though she acted like he wasn't even in the room. I was glad to see that she was getting through this, even though it looked like it was draining the life out of her.

"That was inexplicably awkward," I finally said after a couple of minutes of silence. "Bella and Edward in the same room took the tension level up a notch."

"You don't have to tell me twice. Did you see the way Bella was staring at you?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah, I noticed." I tried not to sound overexcited though my heart was soaring with great anticipation of when I would see her again.

As we pulled into a parking spot in front of the sports bar we picked out for lunch, I had to remind myself to stay cool no matter what around Edward. It was already weird enough from mine and Bella's display this morning and I couldn't put myself or her in an uncomfortable position.

I walked inside finding a table in the corner. We were there to watch the Mariners play. If the four of us could agree on one thing, it was baseball. Even Aro liked it and he hated everything sports related.

A cute brunette came to take our order and even though she was making eyes at me the entire time, I could only smile and be cordial with her. She didn't have anything on Bella.

As she walked away to get our drink orders, Edward looked over at Emmett and said, "Now that is what you call a hottie." The man was only technically divorced for a couple of hours and was already making eyes at another girl.

I quickly realized how hypocritical it sounded.

He was making eyes at a random stranger.

I was making eyes at his new ex-wife.

Emmett laughed and said, "Well you always had a thing for brunettes." Edward nodded and we went back to watching the game. Guys don't normally sit around and talk about girls when there is a game on so the majority of our conversation was about how the third baseman couldn't catch a ball if his life depended on it or how the umpire was blind as hell.

The food finally showed and as we ate, Edward looked in my direction.

"So, Jasper, how are things man. I can't believe after all these years you're hanging with the old crew. How's the wife?"

I nearly choked on my French fry when he asked that absurd question. Didn't anyone in his family say anything to him?

I coughed up the fry and spit it in my napkin.

"Actually, we are divorced as of this week. She's back in Georgia with her family."

"Oh man tough breaks. Sorry to hear. You guys were such a cute couple. I guess we have something in common now."

My eyes quickly got curious. I just knew Bella's name was about to be mentioned.

"I'm recently divorced and so are you – the two single ladies men. We could turn this town upside down with our great looks."

Emmett laughed, "The only thing this guy could turn upside down is his own body. You should have seen him when finally got him out of the club last night. He was so hammered he couldn't even make it to the bathroom without knocking everything over."

My eyes darted straight for Emmett. They were pleading to not say anything about Bella. Emmett nodded as though he understood and my entire body sighed in relief.

The rest of the lunch seemed to go off without a hitch. Aro promised Emmett from the time we walked in the door to not discuss anything remotely related to renovations on the house. Emmett was almost fed up with the endeavor but he pressed on in the hopes it would make Rosalie happy. The game ended with the Mariners losing. We headed back to the estate, and I started to get flustered again.

The entire drive went by so slow. I don't know if it was Emmett driving slower than normal or the fact that I couldn't wait to see Bella again. I tried to not think about her on the way back. As we crept closer to the estate, my heart began to pound and my palms started to sweat. I'm sure Emmett was thinking that I was losing my mind, but I couldn't help the way I felt. She was simply amazing.

As we pulled into the drive, I noticed the beat up red truck still sat in the drive. I watched as Aro got out the Volvo and Edward pulled forward to where Emmett and I stood.

"Well, bro, I'm out for the afternoon. You guys have fun and try not to get too frustrated with everything."

Emmett nodded his head, "Yeah and you try to enjoy the single life."

"Will do. Hey, Jasper, it was great seeing you. Maybe you'll be around next time. We need to hang out sometime soon."

I also nodded my head but didn't say anything. Edward pulled forward and I shook my head as he drove away.

Emmett looked over with curious eyes.

"What are you shaking your head for?"

"I'm just amazed at how easy this is for him. It's almost like he never even cared that they were married. He's so nonchalant about everything"

Emmett's face showed understanding. "Sometimes breakups are easier for others. He probably is hurting underneath all that, but he's never been the kind of guy to show emotion, even as a kid."

I just didn't buy that. I knew what it felt like for my wife to leave me. I couldn't imagine it ever being easy.

We walked by the hole in the porch as Emmett laughed. "Please tell me you made a mental note of that."

"I did more than that. I actually wrote it down. It's right up there with getting a new doorbell. Yours sounds like a cat dying."

**BellaPOV**

When the boys were completely gone, Alice made eyes at me.

"What's that look for?"

"If you are going to flirt with Jasper, how about not do it in front of your ex-husband. It's kind of uncomfortable for the rest of us."

My cheeks got immediately red. "Alice I swear I didn't mean any harm. I was shocked that he even walked in the door. That's what I was staring at, I swear."

She totally didn't believe me. I didn't even believe myself. She showed me how to make the chicken salad which was the easiest thing ever to make. Once a huge bowl of it was ready, Alice, Rosalie and I headed out on the verandah.

Rose sat down and pulled a huge scoop out of the bowl and smiled. She dug into the mess of chicken, grapes and apples and ate like she hadn't eaten in weeks.

Alice and I watched as she scooped up four bites in a second and as her mouth gaped with food nearly spilling out, she said, "Whut?"

"What is up with you?" Alice asked.

Rosalie finished chewing her food. Then she smiled again. She looked like she was glowing.

Then Alice let out a squeal so high pitched and loud, I think only the neighborhood dogs could hear it. She jumped up and ran straight to Rosalie and gave her a huge hug.

I was still completely out of the loop.

"Am I missing something?" I asked with a curious look on my face.

"I'm due in eight months," Rosalie said.

Then I squealed that same high pitch sound Alice released a moment ago. I ran straight to her and gave her a huge hug also. This was the best news we've heard all week.

"That explains why you agreed to be the DD last night." I said.

Rose shook her head, "I found out last week but I wanted to let my family know first. Then we had to wait on a test to come back. I wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong so we wouldn't get everyone's hopes up. Emmett is walking on cloud nine. He was sworn to secrecy till I could say something."

The rest of the lunch was filled with baby plans. Alice and I both agreed to throw the shower for her later on when she found out the sex of the baby. We discussed room plans for the little bug and what kind of high chairs and strollers to get.

For the first time in months I could really get excited about something, even if it wasn't for me. Rosalie seemed so happy and I think it rubbed off on me and Alice.

I didn't even hear a door slam or anything and before I realized it, Emmett, Jasper and Aro had returned, sans Edward. This made me feel so much better. After the tension filled room earlier, I didn't think I could handle another moment in the same room with him.

I sat back in my chair on the verandah as Emmett approached. Alice jumped up and gave her big brother a huge hug.

"What's that for?" Emmett asked.

"That's for being an awesome brother and for making me an aunt."

He smiled. "Well I see someone let the cat out of the bag," he said as his head turned to Rosalie.

"Well, we had to tell them eventually or they all would think that the house was stressing me out so much it was making me fat, and I'm not having inexcusable fatness."

We all giggled as Emmett shook his head. "You are going to be the hottest pregnant woman in Forks. Don't you forget that."

Rosalie stood as Alice carried the bowls and other items from the table. I was so happy sitting in the sunshine that I didn't want to budge. I couldn't even look at Jasper. I knew if I did it would get awkward and tense again and I didn't want to ruin a good moment with the great news floating through the estate.

I could feel him staring at the back of my head though and that didn't help it any.

I turned to see that we were the only two sitting outside. He walked around the table and took a seat. The sunshine hit is curls and a smile ran across his face and he sighed.

We sat in silence together for what seemed like an eternity.

"Jasper… I…"

"Bella… I…"

We both laughed. "You first," he said.

"I'm sorry about last night. I was having a rough night. I apologize for my display and I'm sure you probably think I'm some drunken loony after last night."

He laughed. "Actually, I wanted to apologize for what Rosalie considered getting hands-on with you. I shouldn't have bothered you like that."

"You are apologizing for hugging me? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," I said.

"Well, Rosalie thinks I was trying to take advantage of you. I tried to explain that it wasn't like that and then Edward came into the kitchen before I could state my case."

She got silent after I mentioned his name and I instantly felt bad for saying something and the need to cheer her up came over me. I just had no idea how to do it so I tried to think of something fun and happy.

"That was great news about Rosalie and Emmett huh? I'm so happy that they are having a kid. He seemed so worried it wouldn't work out."

She nodded and wouldn't look at me. I noticed a small tear seeping from her eye and I jumped up and immediately grabbed the chair closest to her and sat at her side.

"Bella, sweetie, what's wrong?"

I grabbed her hand. She didn't budge but stared out into the yard.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You must think I'm losing it. Every time you see me, I'm crying. I'm a horrible mess of emotions right now."

"It's ok. We both are going through something hard."

She used her other hand that I didn't have in my own personal safekeeping to wipe the tears away. I reached toward the table and handed her a napkin. She looked as though she needed clarification on what I meant by troubling times for me.

"My wife left me a couple of months ago and my divorce was final this week also. It's been as hard on me as I'm sure it has been on you."

She sniffled. "Why did she leave?"

"She got homesick and left to spend time with family. While she was at home she ran into an old boyfriend one night and a couple of weeks later called to say she wouldn't be returning and that she wanted a divorce."

She looked at me horrified. "She left you for another man? That's awful." She wiped her eyes again and sniffled.

I shook my head, "Yeah. It took me up until a couple of weeks ago for me to partially get over some of it. Emmett and Rosalie convinced me to move back here and I agreed. It was the best decision I've made in forever."

"Wow, I left Edward for being awful towards me and others. I would never have done something like that."

I smiled. Of course she wouldn't. She's a sweet and caring soul. I could tell that from the first time I sat down next to her. I could sense the greatness in her.

We sat again in silence. I didn't know what else to say to her. I could feel the tension easing from her with each breath she took. She looked at me grateful for being there for her, again.

"I don't know how you do it, Jasper, but you calm me down better than anyone I've ever met. I don't feel so upset when I'm around you."

I let a grin fall across my face. "My mom said the same thing about me. She said I had a gift of calm. My sister's fought all the time with each other and she would send me in the room to settle them down. It always worked."

"Well, anytime I need calming, I'll call you," she said grinning.

I hoped she would keep her word.

"I don't even have your number to call you," I said.

"Are you asking me for my number, Jasper Whitlock?" she said playfully.

"I guess I am," I said back.

"Do you have your cell phone?"

I pulled out my iPhone and typed in as she gave me her number. I snuck a picture of her as she looked over the yard. The small breeze blew her red tinted hair across her shoulders to give me the perfect picture of her.

That would be my new favorite picture on my phone.

She smiled at me, "Did you just take my picture?"

"Sure did. I have pictures for all my contacts."

She blushed, "Well don't show it to anyone. I look absolutely hideous right now."

My face fell, "Bella, never say that about yourself. If you could only see yourself the way I see you."

My face went completely flushed as she stared me straight in the eyes. The longing to stroke her cheek hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted to take her into my arms and never let her go. She looked so innocent, so sweet, and so… happy for once in the past two days.

She sucked in a deep breath at the same time I did. We both were speechless staring at each other, not wanting to move, not wanting to say anything else.

Everything I needed to know I saw in her eyes.

A clap of thunder hit above us and for the first time in the past couple of minutes I was completely aware of what was going on around me. We both jumped at the sound and laughed nervously.

She stood pushing the chair under the table. "Well, Jasper, I really hate to cut this short but I've got to prepare for school on Monday."

"Of course. Are you teaching at the high school?"

"Yeah, unruly tenth grade English. I'm not looking forward to this week. They have a huge test and I feel like the kids are totally not prepared for it."

"Well I'm sure having you as a teacher could be a distraction for the guys in your class."

She giggled and blushed again. That was something I could completely get used to.

"When can I see you again," I asked before I realized my sudden verbal diarrhea. I wasn't exactly asking her out on a date, but technically was.

"Uh," she said hesitantly. I realized I just screwed up in a big way.

"I think I'll be back over here tomorrow to help Rosalie with some more catalog shopping. I think we're going to grill out. You should come over then."

A huge sigh of relief flooded over me. "I might have to do that."

"Nice seeing you, Jasper."

I took her hand and kissed the top of it, "Nice seeing you too, ma'am." My eyes met hers again and the breath was knocked out of both of us for the second time today. She slowly slipped her hand out of mine and turned away. I watched her look over her shoulder as a twinkle hit her eyes. She giggled and slipped back into the house.

I watched as a storm rolled over the hillsides and I realized that for the first time in months, I totally felt light on my feet. As much influence I had on her emotions, she had a hold on me stronger than anything I'd felt before. Bella Swan was stealing my heart right from under my nose.

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**A/N: Ahhh. I feel so much better for finally getting that out of me. Slow and steady wins the race so before the comments start flowing "I want lemons," those with the virtue of patience will be greatly rewarded.**

**I talked to Jasper last night on the phone. He agreed that he would try harder and as you can see, he finally spoke to her. It took a lot of pep talk on my end but he did it. **

**Thanks Jazz… now go fix that porch before someone kills themselves. **


	4. Chapter 4

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 4  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: I have nothing to say. Really. The chapter speaks for itself. All characters belong to Ms. Stephenie.**

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BellaPOV**

Going home to an empty house was the worst feeling ever. Charlie was nowhere to be found and as I plopped down on the couch, I couldn't help but feel a sense of depression creeping over me. I grabbed the closest pillow on the couch and fell over on my side clenching it as hard as I could to my chest. The tears and pain began to swell in me as I thought of how Edward acted like nothing even mattered between us. All those glorious years of him holding me tight and telling me that I was his only love seemed to dissipate. I began to slowly regret the decision to leave him.

Then my thoughts shifted to Jasper. As the tears fell from my already puffy and swollen eyes, I thought about how he looked at me the moment he mentioned his wife. He looked shattered, completely heartbroken. He loved her and you could tell. His eyes would get misty at the mention of her and my heart began to break for him. It wasn't fair that this beautiful, kind hearted man should suffer through something that horrible and I found myself wishing I too could make him feel better. He deserved so much more than to be put through that kind of pain.

Jasper and I were two completely broken people who needed each other. I couldn't figure out where to place the feelings I started to develop for him. It was too close of a time period of our divorces for the both of us to even work towards a relationship. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't even an option for him for some time. I know for myself the mere thought of another relationship ending badly was enough to keep me away from them for a while.

I must have drifted off to sleep and shot up when I heard the front door slam. My dad was home earlier than I expected him. He carried tons of fish in tow and took it straight to the deep freezer. I stood and stretched as he walked back into the living room.

"Hello sleepy head. Were you taking a nap?" my dad asked as he removed his coat.

"Yeah, long day. I'm sorry I don't have dinner done."

"It's ok, Bells. How about we go out to dinner? We'll go to the diner, my treat."

I smiled at my dad.

As he smiled back I noticed the lines on his forehead becoming more defined, just like mine were starting to show. The years of being alone had not done him well. He was in a routine. He would work, eat, fish with friends and then spend countless hours watching ESPN or some other sports network until he was tired enough to go to bed. My father had learned to cope with his loneliness. I had no clue if he even dated after him and my mother split but you could see the pain he still held inside through the tiredness and bags under his eyes. I started to sympathize with him which was something I never wanted to do.

I went upstairs and changed into something a little more comfortable. The diner wasn't exactly fine dining and I could have cared less who I ran into there. I put on a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeve T-shirt, pulled my hair up into a bun and put on a zip up hoodie. After popping on my loafers, I headed down to meet my dad. He raised an eyebrow at how I was dressed.

"What?" I asked.

"You are going into public looking like that?"

My face fell. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Nothing, just thought you'd like to, I don't know, dress nicer since you're back on the market."

I was shocked. My dad of all people was trying to push me along in my love life. That was so unlike him.

"Thanks for your concern, but I promise you I'm in no hurry to go back out just yet."

He smiled, "Well, you take your time. You can stay here as long as you need to." My dad reached over and gave me a hug. That was a rarity between us. My dad loved me and I knew this, but physical affection was odd between us. He kissed the top of my forehead and I had to fight back tears from that simple loving gesture.

We drove into town without saying a word. He drove the cruiser which always made me laugh. People were always so cautious around him, even if he was off duty.

The diner wasn't full. A lot of the locals that came in were older couples and they were done with eating by six or seven that night. We took our normal seat in the corner and I still glanced over the menu even though it hadn't changed the entire time I've lived here and I always ordered the same thing.

"Hello Ms. Swan," a sweet voice said. I looked up and saw Jane, a waitress that has been here since I could remember.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked.

"Great, business is good. Glad to see you in town. Are you visiting?" she asked.

"Um, no actually I'm living back here now. Dad offered to let me stay for a while. I just took a job at the high school."

She grinned at me, but it was an endearing smile. "I'm sorry to hear things didn't work between you and Edward. I always had such high hopes for the two of you. Either way though, I'm glad you are back living with your dad. I think he missed you."

Her eyes flickered to my dad as his face turned a little red and he cleared his throat.

"I'll have the usual," he said as he quickly closed the menu.

"Same," I said.

"So, how many people know about Edward and my divorce?" I asked as soon as Jane walked away.

He cleared his throat again, "Not many to be honest. I only told Jane because I always came here to eat when you were gone. She's been a great friend."

I smiled. My dad making friends of the female kind gave me hopes for him. Maybe he might head in the right direction for once. I watched as she stood at the corner of the counter talking to another customer. She kept looking over at my father and the eye contact went back and forth. I soon realized that Jane may be more than a "great friend." I giggled to myself but straightened up once my dad cut his eyes at me. It was better to not tease him about it.

Our food came and as always my dad had steak. I had a grilled chicken salad with the dressing on the side. I watched customers as they came in and out of the diner while we ate. I recognized so many of them and being back in Forks actually made me feel a little bit better. I think the initial shock of being home set me off a bit. I was getting back into my comfortable routine and to be honest, I started to appreciate this small town a little bit more with each bite of my salad and with each kind greeting from the customers.

I soon found myself overwhelmingly stuffed from the salad and as Dad took his last bite of his steak, we both pushed our plates away at the same time and sat back. We both laughed. Each day I was becoming more and more like my dad. I guess in all honesty, it wasn't a bad thing.

Dad stood up and paid the check. Lord knows how big of a tip he left Jane but she hugged him before he walked back over to me. As we left the diner, I turned back to Jane before we walked out and waved. She smiled and waved back. I needed to thank her later for taking care of my dad.

The drive home was as silent as the drive to the diner. Once inside the house, I told my dad goodnight and headed to my room. It was dark and dreary in my room. Once the sun goes down, I hated being alone in my room. I turned on an old desk lamp and got dressed for the night. I was finally feeling better after a confusing week of emotions.

As I headed to turn the desk lamp off, something on the corkboard above my desk caught my eye.

When I moved away to Seattle after Edward and I married, I left everything in my room the same from high school. I kept promising dad over the past couple of years that I would come clean it out but he said that I should leave it – nothing needed to be moved. It almost made me feel like he was setting my marriage up for failure.

I noticed an old picture. In the picture stood Mike, Jessica, Angela, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett. Standing right next to Emmett was Jasper. I barely even paid any attention to him in high school and he looked so sweet with his longer curls drifting past his ears.

But that's not what caught my attention.

Edward and I stood off to the other side of Jasper. I was looking straight up at Edward as he looked away from the camera in the opposite direction. It seemed as though it had been that way for quite some time. I was always the one more invested in the relationship. I was the one who pushed everything in it – all except the marriage proposal.

As I poured over the picture again, something made me gasp even more than the picture of Edward and me.

Jasper stood next to me, staring down with a smile on his face.

**JasperPOV**

Charlotte was from a well-to-do family in Georgia. After I finished high school, the majority of my time was spent working state to state doing construction work. I landed a job in Georgia restoring old houses and it was Charlotte's grandmother who introduced us.

Her grandmother was from old money. She was the kind of lady who had it hidden in her floor boards. I'm not even kidding when I say that. I was called in to lay new flooring in her ancient house. As I pulled up floor boards in the living room, one contained a sack of twenty dollar bills. She smiled and said, "Well back in the day, we had to hide our money." She took the sack of money into her study and I have no idea what she did with it, but it shocked me.

After a month of doing restorations on her house, Charlotte came for a visit. We hit it off so well. I fell for her in a couple of weeks, but being from the kind of family she was, it was hard to influence her family that I could take care of her.

Her grandmother wasn't snobby at all, but her father on the other hand, was a pill. He wouldn't let me take Charlotte out until I proved myself worthy of her affection. Finally, after some weeks of working at the grandmother's house, I was allowed to take her out. Within months I wanted to marry her.

Again, the financial issue of my background was called into question. I had to show effort of making something out of myself before I could even ask. I finally did and when she agreed, and her father agreed to give the blessing, I was as happy as I could be.

I think I pushed myself too hard to find someone to love.

I blame Edward Cullen for that.

I remember the day that I arrived in Forks. My dad worked for the National Park Services and he landed a job working at the Olympic State Park in Washington. We moved to Forks my senior year of high school. My parents got me registered for high school but school wasn't starting for another couple of weeks.

I first met Emmett at the car wash. We were both washing our Jeeps. He turned to me and complimented me on my rims and the friendship was instantaneous. He was awesome. He was the kind of guy you wanted to have your side in a fight, but also the kind of guy who would understand if you needed a moment. He was never the pushy friend and was always there for me. He as a year older than us and already out of high school, but he was waiting on the love of his life, Rosalie, to get out of school before they took off to college together.

His sister Alice and I hit it off right away. She was petit, cute and a lot of fun to be around. She was my first crush in Forks but I couldn't find it in my heart to give up our friendship. She had her heart set on going to school and wanted to land in the fashion industry.

Then there was Edward Cullen. He was Alice's twin brother and the complete opposite of all of us. He was kind of snobby, not really into the social circle we built around us. He seemed distant all the time.

The worst part was the way he treated his girlfriend, Isabella Swan.

I always knew her as Isabella. She constantly reminded everyone that it was Bella, but to me she seemed more elegant that just Bella. When I said that I felt the kindness that radiated off of her the first time I sat down next to her, it was the day I sat down at her side in the cafeteria on the first day of school in Forks. We were introduced by Alice and when Isabella smiled at me, my heart soared.

Isabella had the sweetest demeanor about her. She was always willing to help her friends, always ready and able to listen. Most of all, she could love unconditionally. She never had an unkind word to say about anyone. She was gorgeous and the epitome of every quality I ever wanted in a girl.

Then I met her boyfriend.

I always wondered what she saw in Edward. She would always be the one to grab his hand, she was always the one to initiate conversations between them, and she was always the one to show more affection. I didn't even recognize her in the bar a couple of nights ago. She aged a little and in high school, I always saw her with a smile on her face.

The pain in her eyes is not the Isabella Swan I wanted to remember.

She never even noticed the way I would make an effort to sit on her other side each day in the cafeteria. She wouldn't even pay attention to my kind gestures of opening the door for her, saying yes ma'am and no ma'am to her just like my mother taught me to do with a lady.

Edward was always off in his own little world and it drove me crazy each day watching him drift further away from her. She was oblivious to it all.

Towards graduation, I'd had enough of watching him treat her he way he did. I couldn't get up the courage to say anything to her, or to Edward, so I wrote a long letter telling her how I felt. I poured my heart and soul into this letter. I left no stone unturned in my admiration for her.

I placed the note ever so carefully in a book she was reading while we were in the cafeteria. Bella and Edward were in the line getting food. Alice was talking Rosalie's ear off and everyone else was off in their own tangents. I reached for her book as though I wanted to see the title, and placed the note in.

I waited for days to hear a response and nothing ever came.

The day of graduation, I stood with our normal crowd of friends when Isabella said she had great news. She flung her hand out from under her graduation robe to show the biggest diamond I'd ever seen shining from her fingers.

My heart was broken and I was crushed. I watched as everyone hugged her and said that they were so happy for her. I had to put on my brave face and do the same.

I left Forks with a broken heart and crushed dreams for the girl I was in love with.

I rushed into a marriage with a girl who I thought I loved. Charlotte was good to me for the first couple of years of marriage. She was the kind of girl who would cook me dinner and then let me rest after a long day of work. She wasn't Bella, but she was the closest I could ever have.

The night time came early as I reflected over the days since Bella walked back into my life. I felt like such a fool for not noticing her at the bar, but as the memories of her came flooding back to me, I wanted to do this right. I couldn't bear to let her out of my life again.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about the sparkle in her eyes, the way she would blush so easily and my heart began to pound. The feeling of butterflies hit and I knew then that I could make this work. I had to make this work.

It was going to be a slow process. We both have been hurt by people we loved and I had to not only build myself up for this, but I had to build a solid foundation for her too. She needed to know that I wouldn't let her walk away so easily. I should have fought for her all those years ago and I didn't. I now officially hated myself for letting her slip away.

"Not again," I said out loud. "Not again."

* * *

**A/N: Still nothing to say. Okay. Maybe one thing.**

**SQUEEEEE! I hope the plot line doesn't confuse you. Yes, Jasper had a crush on Bella in high school. Yes, Bella ignored him. You'll find out some sneaky ass stuff later that pissed me off as I developed the plot line myself. I'm even angry at myself for this one.**

**Either way, I'm so excited about the next chapter!!**

**Thanks again to Jenni P for her support. She text messaged me last night to check on me. I guess I needed to be in some kind of funk to write this chapter. It helped a ton.**

**Ahh, the smell of unrequited love in the morning…**


	5. Chapter 5

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 5  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: Again, nothing to say, yet. All characters belong to Ms. Stephenie.**

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BellaPov**

"What do you think it means, Alice?"

She pulled a box of tri-colored noodles out of the cabinet. Making pasta salad for a ton of people was Alice's forte. She was really good at culinary everything.

"I think it means you are reading too much into nothing."

I went to Alice after I noticed the way Jasper looked at me in that old picture. She had more insight into our friends. She was the "go-to girl" when everyone needed to talk.

"He never once mentioned a crush or anything?" I pleaded with her.

"No he didn't. He knew you and Edward were together. He never would have pursued you anyway. If he felt it was inappropriate, he wouldn't have done anything to harm a relationship."

She seemed to have a point. Even in the past couple of days, he has been nothing but kind and gentle to me.

"Besides, at that time, would you have left Edward for him?"

I shook my head no. Edward was the only guy I ever saw when I walked the halls of Forks High School.

"That is my point exactly. Why bring this up now? Is it going to change anything from the past?"

Again I shook my head no.

"But Alice, it could change things for the future."

She grinned as I headed out to the patio to see if everyone was doing ok. Alice and I refused to let Rose do any of the cooking. We told her to stay off her feet and enjoy the warm weather outside with her husband.

Aro and Emmett were with her as she still ranted about how the yard wasn't flat enough for her.

I grabbed an empty lemonade pitcher and brought it back in the house.

Alice gave me lemonade duty for the day. It was my job to cut up lemons and make the yellow bitter concoction by hand. Alice didn't do anything the easy way.

With each lemon I cut, the knife and board got more and more slippery. She stepped outside to take the massive bowl of pasta goodness to everyone.

"Hello," a soft voice said in front of me.

I looked up as I sliced a lemon and all but cut my finger off. Maybe that wasn't exactly right, I just nicked my finger, but the amount of blood that flowed and the burn from the acidity of the lemon was enough to make me think I had severed my arm.

"Ouch!" I yelled as I put the knife on the counter and ran to the faucet.

Standing over me, Jasper turned the water on and I noticed he was holding his breath.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"I'm…" he closed his eyes and all but fainted in front of me.

I quickly sat him up as quickly as I could. He was heavier than me and I almost let him fall. He got his bearings in order and stood back up. I giggled.

"I'm sorry Jasper, it's not funny."

He stayed far away while I rinsed my cut thoroughly. I grabbed a Band-aid and removed the bloody lemons and knife from the countertop. I reached for a bottle of bleach cleaner and got all the mess off the counter.

"Okay, Jasper, it should be safe now for you to come back."

His face was white but the longer he stood beside me, the color returned to his face. I reached over and made him a glass of water and handed him a paper towel.

He swallowed half the glass in a second and sat it back down on the counter.

"I'm so sorry about that," he said.

"It's no biggie. Are you ok?"

"I am now. I feel like such a pansy right now." he said dropping his eyes.

"Nah, don't say that. Everyone has things that make us queasy. Yours just happen to be blood."

"Thanks Bella. So what on earth were you cutting those lemons for?"

"Alice has this thing about homemade everything. I'm making another pitcher of lemonade for everyone."

I grabbed a new kitchen knife, cutting board and other lemons and began to cut them again. Jasper came up beside me and said, "Need a hand?"

"Sure, there's a knife in that drawer and there might be another cutting board in the cabinet."

Jasper retrieved the knife and cutting board from the other side of the kitchen and began to work diligently slicing lemons and squeezing the daylights out of them. With each squeeze of the lemon, I noticed his arm muscles flex underneath the tight shirt he wore. Despite his tall and skinny physique, I could tell he was ripped and that almost made me slice my finger again.

We barely spoke a word unless it was about lemons until our work was completely done. We decided that slicing them all was the best route to go. It created far less work later on when more pitchers were needed.

"Why didn't she just get the powdered stuff?" he asked as the last lemon was put away.

"Shh! If Alice hears that she'll have both our hides."

He threw his head back and laughed. God it was such as sexy laugh.

"Well next time I'll slip a container of the powdered stuff in. It'll keep our fingers from looking like this."

He held up his hands and you could see how wrinkled they were. It took every ounce of energy I had to not slip those fingers into my mouth. I looked up at him and he was smiling. I seriously think he was trying to toy with me.

"Uh, yeah," I said as I cleared my throat. I turned from him and placed the cutting boards and knives in the sink.

He came up behind me and all but whispered in my ear, "We smell like lemons. Not that I mind."

I turned completely around, my hands still soaked in suds. His hands were placed on either side of me and there was no escape.

"And what do you think you are doing?" I asked, as my eyebrows rose in suspicion.

He stared deep into my eyes and his sweet breath hit me like a boulder. I was complete putty and he could have molded me into anything at that moment.

He didn't budge and I was beginning to get frustrated.

_Either kiss me or leave._

As if he could read my mind, he leaned in as his soft lips grazed mine. His hands released from the sink top and wrapped me completely into his arms as our lips pressed harder against each other. My suds soaked hands grasped his back holding him tighter.

He slowly pulled away and held the biggest grin on his face. My body was on fire from desire and it had been so long since I felt that way about someone.

"I'm sorry," he smiled.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I… I just, I really don't know why I'm apologizing. I guess because it may be too soon for you?"

"I'm ok, trust me. No worries, okay?" I said biting my lower lip.

He grabbed my hands, kissing the top of one of them.

"Bella, I know this may be far-fetched and hell, trust me, I can't believe I'm asking this but would you mind going to dinner one night next week?"

A huge smile spread across my face as I shook my head yes.

He looked like he was doing a silent victory dance in his eyes. They lit up and began to sparkle. I knew exactly how he felt.

"Great, I'll call one day this week to set up a good time."

He released my hands and exited the kitchen to meet everyone out on the veranda. I stood still completely in awe at the events that just took place. My heart was full of happiness and I turned back to washing the dishes in the sink. I began to sing to myself and life felt awesome for the first time in weeks.

**JasperPOV**

I don't know what came over me. Maybe I felt the need to redeem myself from the non-masculine showing earlier. I couldn't believe I nearly fainted in front of Bella. She was a lot stronger than I gave her credit for. She picked me right up and held me there until I could stand on my own. I needed that – not only then, but also in my life.

I still had the taste of her strawberry lip gloss on my lips as I walked outside. I felt my pants getting tighter as I approached the door and I had to calm myself down before I exited. The last thing I needed was Rosalie accusing me of molesting her friend again.

I finally got my appendages to calm down enough to join the rest of our crew outside. Everyone was the sight of happiness. Emmett had his arms wrapped around Rosalie and was rubbing her stomach. Alice held Aro's hands in hers and they were deep in discussion about a trip they had planned to Italy in the summer. I so missed the days of being with someone who wanted to share their life with me. Sadness began to set in again as I thought of Charlotte and my missed opportunities with Bella.

I sat down next to Alice. "Hey Jasper, glad you came," she said as she patted my hand. She completely understood that I needed to be around friends also. Her kind words always seemed to make me feel better. I wanted to talk to her so bad about my feelings for Bella but I had to do it when Rosalie wasn't around. I had a feeling she did not me getting to close to Bella and I couldn't figure out why. I felt like she had some secret vendetta and it bugged me horribly.

Emmett broke his gaze over Rosalie to acknowledge that I was even there. He got up and shook my hand and sat back down as soon as Bella joined us. The steaks on the grill were just about done and Aro stood to grab the slabs of beef off the grill top. He loaded them onto a huge platter which was placed directly in the middle of the table.

"I hope you like yours medium," he said as he passed the pasta salad to me.

"Sure that's fine."

Bella got the bowl of pasta from me and as her hands grazed mine, that same electricity I had felt just moments ago was still there. She blushed and passed it on to Emmett after she was done. We both ate in silence listening as Rosalie and Alice dominated the conversation. We stole glances at each other as often as we could and I prayed no one noticed.

The entire dinner was going great.

That was until a party crasher arrived.

"What, I wasn't invited to this little party?"

I looked to the door and saw Edward staring at the rest of us.

Alice stood up to greet him. "Hey, what are you still doing here? I thought you went back to Seattle?"

"No, I got an extension from work to settle some paperwork here." He glanced at Bella as the words seemed to hit her like venom. That could only mean the divorce papers. She looked horror stricken.

"Well I'm sure we've got plenty," Alice said as she made room between her and Rosalie. I was quite pleased she didn't place him anywhere near Bella and me. I instantly noticed a change in Bella's attitude. She didn't eat anymore and only pushed pasta salad around with her fork.

The rest of the dinner was quite awkward. Bella didn't say another word, Edward and Emmett talked football and Alice tried her best to make conversation with me. I appreciated all the effort she put into making me welcome. As the night pressed on I felt my welcome becoming worn and decided to call it a night. I had to go to Olympia this week and needed to prepare for the trip.

I stood, grabbing my plate as Alice joined me in clearing some of the table off. She followed me into the kitchen and I shoved all the leftover food into the garbage disposal.

"Alice, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Jazz, what's up?"

I put a platter into the sink and said, "Has Bella mentioned me to you?"

She smiled, "Now Jasper, you know I can't say that. It's breaking girl code if I do."

I laughed. I knew better. "I know she has, but am I being to forward in asking her to dinner this week?"

She giggled, "I think that is a wonderful idea. I'm sure she'll enjoy it. She really could use a good _friend _right now." The way she emphasized friend had me questioning my own motives. Was I trying to be more than friends? That kiss definitely said more than friends in my mind.

"I never thought I'd see the two of you become so close," Alice said to me.

"I know. To think I had such a huge crush on her in high school."

Alice stopped washing a plate and looked at me with a confused look on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Bella just asked me earlier if I knew of you having a crush on her in high school. It's nothing."

My heart began to pound hard in my chest. I thought about the letter that I'd written all those years ago. Maybe she ignored it because of her feelings for Edward.

I looked out the sliding glass door of the kitchen and Bella was looking away from the table out into the yard. She looked so uncomfortable and I hated to see her so unhappy. My instant reaction was to grab her by the hand and lead her out of that situation, to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything was going to be ok.

I would have done it too if Edward hadn't been there.

She looked back into the kitchen as I stood at the counter. Her eyes were pleading. She needed to get away. I could tell.

I motioned with my finger for her to come to me. She stood, abandoning all the chaotic pain that had a hold on her at that table. She walked into the kitchen and as soon as her foot hit the marble tile of the entrance way, she smiled. She stood in front of me as my arms stretched wide for her to hug me. She wrapped her small arms around me and I hugged her as tight as I could.

I whispered down into her ear, "You are going to be fine. I'm going to be fine. How about I take you home?"

She nodded, but then looked up at me. "How am I going to get Charlie's truck back to the house?"

"I'll take care of it."

Alice nodded to me as I grabbed her coat off the chair in the kitchen.

I waved at Alice as she motioned for us to leave before anyone noticed that we were gone. I helped her up into my Jeep and we didn't even look back at the house as we drove away.

She stared out of the window as made our way down the winding road to her house.

"Are you ok?" I asked squeezing her shoulder.

"I guess so. I knew having the same friends was going to make leaving Edward more difficult. I just didn't expect him to spend so much time around here. It's not completely fair to me. He has his life and his other set of friends in Seattle. I can't believe he thinks it's necessary to spend all his free time here. My family and friends are here too."

I could sense the unhappiness in her voice as it tried not to show the tears she wanted to shed. I was glad we arrived in her driveway before she had a chance to lose it in the Jeep. I jumped out and immediately went to her side, opened the door and took her into my arms. I hugged her tight and she began to sob into my chest.

I stayed with her like that until she calmed down.

"Thanks so much for the ride home Jasper. I don't know what kind of shape I would have been in to drive home," she said with her face halfway buried in my chest.

"You are quite welcome," I said as I kissed the top of her head.

She pulled away from me. "I guess I need to get upstairs. I have class to teach tomorrow. When should I expect your call?"

"I'm heading out to Olympia tomorrow to do some work for a contractor there. I should be back in town Tuesday. I'll give you a call when I get into town."

She smiled and took my hands. "I'll be looking forward to it."

She reached up and kissed my cheek lightly. I could wait for another kiss like the one we shared today. She needed her space. I could see that in her eyes.

"Thanks again for being such a good friend to me. It's good to know someone understands me."

She let go of my hands and walked up the steps to her door. As she shut the door behind her, I imagined this is what it would have been like to date Bella Swan in high school. I got all giddy and watched as the lights turned on and off in her house. The moment the light shown upstairs to her room, I knew she was safe and sound. I could leave her then to her thoughts, and maybe, just maybe those thoughts would be of me.

I jumped into my Jeep and drove away with thoughts of Isabella Swan on my mind. I couldn't wait to get back from Olympia. I wiped a bead of sweat from my face and inhaled as I did. My hands still smelled of Bella and lemons. I knew that from that day on, I would never drink lemonade without thinking of her. That gave me hope for the future. When life gives you lemons…

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**A/N: I promised lemons. Right? My friend Jenni P's facebook the other day said, "When life gives you lemons…" and I nearly lost it. I wanted to incorporate the theme of lemons in the story but I wanted to do something witty. I hope I accomplished this by adding lemonade and simple shared kisses. **

**So this week was odd. I've had a ton of reviews/adds/favs for this week and it makes my heart skip a beat. I also contributed a story to Ms. Kathy's "TwiFans 4 Haiti" which you should totally head over to "The Fandom Gives Back" blogspot to see how you can contribute to giving back.**

**Also, Jenni P. is writing her tail off to get chapters posted for "Pas De Deux" which is getting amazing. Also, again a huge thanks to Austin Crane for being the awesome musician that he is. Don't forget to head over to iTunes and check out his two albums. He's a local guy here who is doing amazing stuff with his music.**

**Ok enough acknowledgements. I've decided a posting time for each chapter. Sundays by 9 p.m. will be my deadline. **


	6. Chapter 6

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 6  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: Ahh, know what's worst than angst ridden teens? Angst ridden adults. **

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BellaPOV**

The pain struck me out of the blue. One moment I'm in the shower completely ecstatic about the kiss from Jasper and then the next moment I'm drowning in my despair over Edward. I started thinking of how Edward treated me at the dinner table tonight. It was almost as if I didn't exist to him anymore.

I sank down in the shower as the water poured over top of me. My tears mixed with the drops of water that fell from overhead and I began to sob uncontrollably. I didn't care if Charlie could hear be below. I need to cry and it felt so good as my body shook with all the anguish from Edward's attitude.

_How dare he treat me like this?_

I pounded my fist on the tile walls around me and I soon realized how silly this was to inflict physical pain on myself. I eventually calmed myself down enough to stand up and finish with my shower. I wrapped the towel around me as I stared again into the fogged up mirror of my now shared bathroom with my father and wondered where it all went wrong.

If Jasper had a crush on me in high school why didn't he say anything? They say pictures speak a thousand words and the one on my night stand of him staring directly at me spoke truths never told. I had a feeling there was more to the story and I wanted to ask him but I was scared to death it meant I wanted something more out of him.

_Did I want something more with him?_

I quickly towel dried my hair and got dressed for bed. School was coming entirely too soon for me and I was nervous as hell about starting over again, not just in another school as a teacher, but life in general. It never fails though. The night you need the most sleep is the one you can never fall asleep for.

After copious amounts of tossing and turning, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

The first day went by okay. The worst was lunch time when it felt like day one of Forks High School, Bella years, all over again. I carried my tray nervously through the cafeteria looking for the spot reserved for teachers only. I found a kind welcome smile from my old Biology teacher, Mr. Banner. I sat down next to him and smiled.

"It's so hard to believe that I'm sitting next to Bella Swan, now as a teacher. I still remember having you in my Biology class. You and Edward were great lab partners," Mr. Banner said to me before taking a bite of his food.

"I know it is hard to believe," I kindly said back.

I blushed and wanted to dart out of the room in tears of the mere mention of Edward again. Even though I have been out of high school for so many years, the memories of us together were everywhere I looked.

I could look across the cafeteria at the tables and pick out our spot. As I walked down the halls of the school I could tell you where he first held my hand, met me at my locker each day and worked with me in the library over Shakespeare.

Indeed, Forks High School had my failed relationship's history within ever inch of its walls and I began to doubt my ability to keep it together. I barely spoke another word to Mr. Banner the rest of lunch and he didn't push conversation either. I was always quiet in his class and I thought he may have remembered that.

After my first disastrous lunch was finally in the clear, I went back to my class room and prepared for my next class, which luckily for me didn't happen for another class period. I began diligently working on my lesson plans during my short break from pubescent teenagers.

"Ms. Swan, are you in your classroom," I heard a loud voice boom over the speaker.

"Yes, I am," I said back into the air.

"Can you come down to the office for a moment?"

"Sure," I yelled back.

I stood frustrated that my lesson plans were being interrupted. It was my planning period and this was the only time of day I could actually get work done. There had better be a good excuse for me being called away.

Ms. Cope, the school secretary was all smiles when I walked into the door of the front office. She was also all giggles and I worried secretly that this could be some sort of prank.

"Bella, you didn't tell me you'd already met someone," she said as she handed me a giant vase filled with the most beautiful bouquet of yellow daisies and daffodils I'd ever seen.

"I haven't met anyone special enough to send me flowers like this," I said as I gaped over the arrangement.

"Well apparently someone thought you were special enough to send them," she teased back.

I thanked Ms. Cope and headed back to my classroom, blushing each time another student or teacher made a comment about the huge vase of flowers I carried down to my room. After safely making it back with the glass vase and floral concoction, I finally read the card.

_To Bella,  
To new beginnings and hopefully more glasses of lemonade.  
Jasper_

I had a smile stretched so far across my face from that note. I was in a better mood for the rest of the day. As soon as I got into my car, I immediately text messaged Jasper and told him thank you for the flowers.

I didn't get a response right away and I knew he was busy working on a project. I got home, did a load of laundry, cooked Dad and I some dinner and around eight that night, I got a message from him.

_Glad you liked them. They reminded me of you. Anything yellow reminds me of you now._

I laughed.

_Can you talk, or call me?_ I text him back.

He didn't even text me. He called right away.

"Hey that was fast," I said.

"Sorry, it was easy to just hit send. How was your day?" he asked.

"Kind of shitty actually. I was doing okay until lunch time then Mr. Banner had to make a comment about Edward and I. It was really hard to walk the halls and see all the memories of him in that place. But once I got the flowers from you, things seemed to get better."

"I'm glad I could help make your day brighter. I'm sorry Mr. Banner brought all that up. It must be hard being there."

"You have no idea. It's almost like I can still see him every single time I walk the halls. It gets really frustrating when people ask where he is or how we're doing."

Jasper got quiet for a second. Then said, "You know, I guess I'm lucky in that aspect. Most of the people who knew of Charlotte are all Georgia. I don't get hassled around here."

"I guess," I said. I wanted so bad to ask him about the possible crush but before I could get the question out of my mouth, my phone beeped.

"Hey Jasper, I need to let you go," I held the phone up to see that my attorney was calling. Mike was very good about never keeping actual work hours.

"Okay, sure. Can I call you later?" he asked.

"Yeah sure, call me tomorrow, I need to take this call," I said in a hurry.

I barely heard him say goodbye before I clicked over.

"Bella, hey it's Mike. Listen, I got a phone call from Edward's attorney today. Apparently the two of you had some land together and he wanted to know what you wanted to do to settle this?"

_Land? _

_Oh hell. That stupid land we bought together to build a house that would never be._

"I had forgotten about that Mike. Tell Edward's attorney I'll turn the land over to him. I don't want it."

"Well, according Edward's attorney, he doesn't want it either."

"Can't we just sell the land and split the money?" I asked.

"Sure you can, but it could be tied up for a while. I may have to get the two of you, along with his lawyer into my office tomorrow afternoon if that's ok to sign a mutual agreement for the selling of the land."

_Will this nightmare ever end?_

"Sure Mike, I can be there after school."

I hung up with Mike and all but threw my phone across the room. My head fell into my hands and I began to sob again. I wanted everything to just go away. I wanted Edward to disappear out of my life and quit causing so much turmoil but I began to sense he wasn't about to let me go so easily.

-------------

The morning showed up entirely too early again. I spent the entire night in a panic over meeting with Edward and his attorney that afternoon. Teaching offered a welcomed distraction from the pain I would eventually feel that afternoon.

During my planning period as I stared across the classroom, the onset of fear swept over me and I almost asked another teacher to cover my classroom the rest of the afternoon. I pulled out my cell phone and sent Jasper a text message to see if he could talk. True to Jasper fashion, he called me back right away.

"Hey sweet lady, is everything ok?" he asked when I answered.

I began to cry again. "No, it's not. I'm so sorry to call you and bug you like this but I didn't know who else would understand."

"What's going on? Do you need me to come up there?"

"No, it's just… Mike called me last night to let me know that a piece of land Edward and I bought needed to be settled. I have to meet with him and his attorney this afternoon. I'm just so tired of all this. I feel like he's playing one giant game and I'm done with it all."

I cried harder. Everything was turning to shit again.

"Bells, I'll be there in a few minutes."

He hung up before I could tell him no. I walked to the sink in the classroom and grabbed some tissue and wiped the tears off my face and stared out the window at the rainy day. I had no idea how much time passed as I tried desperately to clear my head.

"You look beautiful today," a voice said from the doorway.

Jasper was leaning on the doorway in a pair of jeans, work boots and a tight white T-shirt. He wore an unbuttoned blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His golden locks were pulled behind his ears and his green eyes were piercing. He had a little bit of stubble on his face. I'm sure my jaw dropped at the mere sight of him.

"T-thanks," was all I could muster out.

He walked towards me and I noticed he was wearing a visitor's pass. I'm sure Ms. Cope was going to have a field day with me this afternoon when I retrieved my things from the office.

"Are you ok now?" he said once he got close. I could smell pine on him. It blended with his natural woodsy smell and nearly stopped my heart. He stared deep into my eyes and my body began to tingle. The electricity bounced off of me and I'm sure he could feel it too. The attraction was becoming too evident and I had no idea how to control it. I wanted him to take me right there in the classroom. I could deal with the consequences later.

"I am, now that you are here."

He smiled crookedly at me and I'm sure I quit breathing again.

"I'm glad I could be of service, again, ma'am." I was expecting him to bow or tip a hat but he did neither.

I was utterly speechless. I had seen Jasper a lot since moving back to Forks, but for some reason, he seemed different today.

"Are you going to say anything?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I said.

He laughed, "Bella, I have a feeling you are crushing on me." He then blushed, dropped his head and smiled.

"I-I think I am," I blurted out.

_Smooth, Bella, real smooth._

He snapped his head up and brought his hand to my face. His fingers traced the edge of my jaw and softly palmed my cheek into his hand.

"I think you are too," I said.

"I wonder what gave that away," he said as he stepped closer to me. He brought his other hand to my face and brought his closer to mine. His nose nuzzled the tip of mine as I closed my eyes.

His lips softly touched mine and my hands slipped around his neck, pulling him closer to me. The kiss was soft, meaningful. It wasn't rushed or pushed. He was taking his time, showing me the softer side of him and I was melting in his arms.

He pulled away and I didn't want to open my eyes. I was so scared that he would disappear as quickly as he showed but he was still there when I got the courage to open them.

"I hope that this helps a little bit. You are a very brave and strong woman, Bella. You made the right decision to make yourself happier, and I'm not just saying this because you allowed me to be here for you. You can do this and I believe in you. I'm always here for you, no matter what."

I nodded. "Thank you for this Jasper. You have no idea how much this means to me, how much you being here means."

He hugged me tight as the bell sounded above us. He grabbed my hand and said, "Call me when you are done with the lawyers. I'm working today at the estate with Emmett. I'm right down the road if you need me."

His hand slipped away as he walked towards the door. He looked back from the doorway and smiled. I felt myself blush again. As soon as he was out, the students began pouring in and I had to compose myself to teach. I felt so much better, full of confidence that I could indeed come face to face with Edward today.

At the end of the day, I went to my teacher's box to get papers and information for the rest of the week. Ms. Cope was smiling at me the entire time. Finally, I blurted out, "He's just a really good friend of mine."

"Sure, if you want to believe that." She turned to her desk and laughed all the way there.

The drive to Mike's office was a little gut wrenching, but as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, a sweep of confidence ran over me. He could drag this out as long as he wanted to, but I had backing and I was feeling much better knowing that my family and friends were supporting me through this. Mostly it came from knowing that Jasper was there for me.

I strolled through the office door with my head held high, and when I saw Edward and his attorney sitting in the lobby, I ignored them and went straight to the receptionist. She smiled warmly and said that Mike was expecting me and to go on back. I didn't even turn back to my now ex-husband and walked right on in to Mike's office.

"Thanks so much for coming Bella. Edward was adamant that we all meet together about this." He stood and reached for my hand and then escorted me to the large leather chair in front of his desk.

"I figured as much. He's been acting odd the past couple of weeks."

"Is everything ok?" he asked as he sat on the corner of the desk.

"On my end, I'll live. It's just odd. He keep showing up at Emmett and Rosalie's place when I'm there and I know having the same mutual friends would be difficult, I just wish I understood why he was doing this."

"Have you talked to him about any of this? You can now that your divorce is final. Nothing would be held against you."

I sighed. "No, I've just wished he would go away."

Mike laughed, "It doesn't always work that way. Maybe after today, you can settle all your differences and be done with it."

He led me straight into the conference room where a huge, long cherry wood table sat in the middle. I took a seat and patiently waited for everyone. The moment the door opened, I worked my ass off to gain composure.

Mike sat down next to me and handed me a folder. He also handed one to Edward's attorney who opened it up so the both of them could go over the paperwork. His attorney whispered something to Edward and he nodded back.

"So as you can see, I've drawn up papers that allow the sale of the land. It basically states that both parties agree to the sale and the only thing I need to know is how to split the funds from the sale," Mike said as he went flipped a page with an arrow pointing for a signature.

I couldn't even look at Edward or else I would burst into tears. It was much harder doing this than I thought. After each line I read I didn't know if I could handle it.

"Edward and I have discussed this and since Ms. Swan agrees to no financial help from Mr. Cullen, he is suggesting a scholarship for aspiring educators," Edward's lawyer said coldly.

I then lost it. I began to sob uncontrollably. Edward and I had discussed a couple of years ago that we wanted to give back to the community. He wanted to start a scholarship for students who wanted to teach others. It was supposed to be our project together.

Mike stood up and said, "I think we need to take a break for a moment. Excuse us."

"Actually, if you don't mind I'd like to speak with Bella," Edward said. I shook my head no. I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted him to go away. I wanted it to be as if he never existed.

"Please Bella, I think we need to talk," he begged.

I shook my head yes.

"I'll leave the two of you alone then. If you need anything, let me know Bella," Mike said as he patted my shoulder.

I reached for a box of tissues on the table that were out of my grasp and Edward handed them to me.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset. I figured this was the best way to handle the money. I didn't need it. I thought you would be pleased to do this."

I wiped the tear away and said, "Why Edward? Why do you continue to spend so much time around me? You let me walk away, you let me leave and now all the sudden you are here. I'm so confused by your behavior."

Edward ran his hands through his auburn locks and sighed.

"Bella, do you remember in High School when I asked you to marry me? You were so excited about the wedding and then a couple of days before you got cold feet?"

"Yes, I do." I hated to think about that. It was so hard to let him know that I had my doubts.

"I told you that no matter what, I wouldn't leave you. If we were to end this, it was going to be by your hands. I wanted you to be happy in life no matter what, and I'm sorry that I was such a jerk to you through all this. I love you so much and it hurts to see you like this."

He lifted my chin with his finger. "I would have given anything to not sign those papers the other day. I did it because it was what you wanted."

I blinked away more tears as I stared deep into his eyes. They were bright green and when they were bright, I knew honesty was flowing from his lips.

"Edward, I need to leave. I'm so confused right now I don't know what to do with myself." I stood, gathering my items in a flash.

"Wait Bella, before you go."

He reached down into his pocket and pulled out a box.

"I was going through some things at the house and I saw this on the sink in the bathroom. I want you to do with it what you deem fit."

I opened the box and shining before me was the diamond engagement ring he gave me so many years ago. I closed it and sat it down on the table and walked out of the room.

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**A/N: Yes I know, it's an all Bella chapter. I decided to do it like this because people wanted to know Eddie C's deal. I'm wondering if any of you can figure it out yet. **

**Also, I was discussing with JenniP the other day about my inspiration of the characters. Of course I told you first chapter the idea came from my great-grandmother's engagement ring, but the characters, Hope Floats. Take Harry Connick, Jr.'s character and put Jasper in his place. Yup, that's him. The sweet, caring guy who pines for the girl he always loved. **

**Shoutouts definitely need to go to JenniP for the utter support through this. I called her from the grocery store last night all in a panic because I was in the Ice Cream aisle writing internal dialogue for stories and was beginning to think I was going crazy. She assured me that I was and that I was okay.**

**Huge, HUGE thanks to my new beta, cereuleanblue for doing all the tense corrections for me. I am the suck at it. Come to find out, she's the wife of a high school friend. So it makes it even more awesome!**

**And also, I have to thank kennedymommy3 for all the great things she does. Not only has she been a great supporter, reader and commenter, add ALLSOME author to that. I have to fluff "Meant to Be" by her. So good so far!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**~Indention Of The Heart~  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: I first need to sincerely apologize to my readers. I've had one crisis after another in posting this chapter. First my laptop cord went kaput and then my laptop died all together. I finally bit the bullet and just wrote it out at work today. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just hope Bella likes strawberry ice cream.  
**

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**JasperPOV**

The worst part about letting Bella go this afternoon in her classroom had to be the mere thought of her facing that asshole Edward Cullen. I knew that it was the one thing she feared more than anything else and I was scared to death that he had said something or done something to upset her. He was a sneaky little bastard and I knew that the meeting was going to be some sort or way to keep her under his wraps.

I paced back and forth for hours waiting on a single phone call from her to let me know that she was okay and that we would be fine. As the hours dragged on my heart began to sink and I started fearing the worst. I glanced at the clock on my mantle and realized that it was already after eight at night. I grabbed the keys off my coffee table and headed straight for my jeep. I tried calling at least fifteen times on the way to her house and never got a single answer. I pulled into the drive of the swan residence and noticed that her light in her bedroom was on but that Charlie was nowhere to be found.

I stood at the front door knocking for what seemed like an eternity and when she never came to the door I went into instant panic mode. I saw this huge tree that stood in front of the house leading up to the window and decided that if I had to go to jail for breaking and entering to see if she was okay, then it would be worth it. I slowly climbed the massive trunk of the tree until I got to the branch that led to her window. She was standing at this bulletin board on her wall just staring at something. I could tell she had been crying as her tear streaked face turned to the window. She gasped at the sight of me and flew the window open.

"Jasper Whitlock, what the hell are you doing in my tree like some fucking peeping tom? Get in here before my dad sees you."

She reached for my hand and led me into her bedroom. I felt like a high school kid visiting his crush and I smiled as she took me in her arms. She hugged me so tight that I could barely breathe.

"I was worried sick about you Bella," I said into her hair.

"I'm fine, it was just a rough meeting. I think Edward is trying to win me back or something."

I took a step back admiring the beauty that stood before me. Edward would try to win her back. He would do it merely out of spite for not having her anymore. He wouldn't do it for the right reasons, like I would. I would do it because I loved her, and had for my entire adult life.

I stood staring at her beautiful brown eyes and they were so distraught. It pained me to see her in so much agony and I wanted nothing more than to take it all away for her. I loved her, I had to show her how much or I would never ever get my chance again. I took her hand and sat down on the bed. She took a seat next to me and put her head on my chest.

"So what did he try to do?" I asked.

She laid out every detail about the scholarship and then ring. I asked her why she didn't take it and sell the ring. She could use the money for something good, like a new truck or at least a place of her own.

"Jasper, I don't think you understand. I don't want any sort of help from him. Taking the ring and selling it would be just like him handing me over the money himself. I don't want any part of him anymore. I want to move on with my life."

She began shedding more tears and I was tired of seeing her waste so much emotion and tears over him.

I lifted her chin and kissed her tears away. She should never feel like this anymore. It wasn't right. I wasn't going to allow it.

Her lips met mine in a small chaste kiss that signaled that she was glad I was there for her again. I pulled away before I could let myself get carried away. I wanted this to blossom the right way and I didn't want to pressure her into something more than she could handle right now.

I held her against me until the both of us couldn't sit like that anymore. She yawned.

"Jasper, I think I need to go to bed. It has been a really long day."

I kissed her again on the cheek and she stood up from the bed. I followed behind her and she eased herself under he covers. I got down on my knees beside her and brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.

"Do you want me to stay until you go to sleep?" I asked her.

"You can if you'd like," she said as she smiled back and then let out another yawn. I grabbed her hand and held it until she drifted off to sleep. I slowly let her hand go and she rolled over sleeping peacefully. I slowly opened her window and slid out, climbing down the tree as carefully as I could. I headed home with the sight of my girl peacefully sleeping in my head.

I needed to help her get through this problem one way or another.

______________

The next morning I awoke to the sun pouring in through my open blinds. I sat up on the couch and brushed my curls away from my face. I fell asleep on my couch again last night not wanting to sleep alone. My bed always feels so alone when the woman I love is not there to share it with me.

I had to start on more renovations at Emmett and Rosalie's house today. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with her snide comments or remarks but at least it would take away from my thoughts of what I could do to Edward Cullen the next time he hurt my Bella.

I got dressed into my work jeans and boots and headed down to Emmett's. He was taking the day off from work to help me with some of the tough parts of putting up drywall. Rosalie spent her day on the couch reading magazines and watching TV. Emmett was being as careful as possible with her during her pregnancy and I loved watching him take care of her. Granted, Rosalie and I didn't get along, but you could tell that she loved her husband, and was very protective over the people she cared about. I could admire her for that.

After about four hours of tacking up drywall, we needed a break and I went downstairs to the living room. Rosalie had old boxes out and was pouring over photographs. She was smiling and laughing to herself and I couldn't help but be curious as to what she was looking at. She looked up from the couch and saw me staring at her.

"It's rude to stare," she said to me as she flipped through more books.

"I didn't mean to stare on purpose you know. I was just curious as to what was so funny."

She patted the couch next to her and she let me peek into to the album she held in her lap. There were old pictures of us from high school. We looked so young and so ambitious then.

"I remember the day you came to Forks," Rosalie said. "You and Emmett were inseperable and it felt great for him to have such a great friend."

I was in shock. Rosalie actually had something nice to say to me.

"Well, thanks, I think?" I said as I cocked my eyebrow up.

"I mean that Jasper. You have done a lot for us. I feel bad that I gave you such a hard time the past couple of weeks. You have to accept my apology. I don't do it very much."

Her eyes began to well with tears. Great, she was having a pregnancy emotional break down.

"Hey, hey no crying. What's wrong?" I asked.

"Jasper, have you ever had a secret, one that wasn't yours to tell and no matter how much you wanted to say something, you were sworn completely under the oath of friendship?"

I looked at her confused. "Sure I have, it's hard to do but sometimes its best to keep the secret, especially for friends."

She smiled at me. "You really like Bella, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Rose, I've been in love with her since the day I first saw her in high school. I couldn't believe she was with Cullen and after the way he treated her I knew I could do better. I never said anything though."

"Oh so now you're sharing a secret with me?" she said cocking her eyebrow that time.

"I guess in a way I am. She doesn't know though. She's never mentioned to me that she knew. I guess my attempts in high school were in vain. It doesn't matter now though, she's warming up to me. I just wish I could get Edward off her back. It's not fair how he treats her."

She smiled, "Edward does love her you know. He had his own weird way of showing it. He came to me the night after she told him she wanted the divorce in tears. I'd never seen him cry, ever and that night he did. He told me that he didn't want to let her go but that if she wanted him away from her, he could let her go if it made her happy."

That shocked me. Edward actually felt emotion and then I instantly became worried that maybe underneath it all he did care for her and would fight for Bella. My heart sank into my feet at the revelation that I had more intense competition than I realized.

"Jasper, Bella likes you. I can see it in the way she opens up to you and it is actually a relief that you treat her so well. Edward only knew how to shower her with materialistic things to show his affection. You give her something more than that. I'm not saying I give you my blessing because it's not mine to give, but more of agreeing that you need to be with her. She needs support right now, not gifts."

I hugged Rosalie. I couldn't believe she was being so nice to me.

I pulled away and said, "Why are you being so nice?"

"Don't worry, it won't last long. My hormones are way out of wack. I'll go back to screaming at you soon enough."

"Good, you being nice makes me very uncomfortable."

Rosalie laughed and went back to her pictures.

The day pressed on and before I knew it, it was five in the afternoon. I bid Emmett a good afternoon. We were far from done but the majority of the baby's room was complete. I wanted to have that one at least a hundred percent before the little one arrived.

I drove down the winding road into Forks and saw Bella walking into the local grocery store. She was dressed down in what appeared to be Pjs. Only Bella could make flannel plaid pajamas so appealing.

I pulled my Jeep into the parking lot and hesitated on getting out. What if she went into freak out mode that I was beginning to stalk her? I'd already climbed through her window to check on her and now I'm following her into the grocery store.

I walked through the doors of the small grocery store and gazed over the aisles looking for signs of Bella. I couldn't find her towards the front of the store and made my way to the frozen food section. There she stood in grey and blue flannel PJ bottoms and a white T-shirt. The silly girl wore a bra that exposed exactly how cold it was in here. She chewed on her bottom lip staring over the selections of ice cream before her.

She reached in and hesitated and pulled back again. She was being so indecisive. I slowly walked up to her and she didn't even notice as I stood behind her.

"I've always been partial to strawberry," I whispered behind her.

She gasped and then turned around.

"Jasper, what the hell are you doing? Are you following me?"

I quickly felt awful. I knew she would think I was following her.

"Actually, I saw you walk in as I drove by. I was going to call you later but figured I would stop it to say hi instead. I hope you don't mind."

She blushed, "It's just, look at me, I'm in my PJs."

I smiled at her, "And you look lovely."

"Well I call these my "see everybody you want to run into" grocery store clothes. It never fails that I run into everyone when I'm in my PJs. Not that I mind."

She was getting playful with me and I loved seeing her become so comfortable around me.

"Are you cold?" I asked.

She blushed as she looked down. "Ah, fuck. Remind me to not wear this in here again."

I took off my flannel over shirt and handed it to her. It swallowed her but I could see it made her more comfortable.

I walked with her down each aisle as we talked about food and her cooking abilities. She promised to make me a meal really soon and I couldn't wait. We stood at the shelf of water and she tried so hard to reach for a bottle of Evian from the top shelf. Her short arms and frame couldn't reach it and I took it with great ease.

"I need to keep you with me when I'm in here. I would have struggled till I finally climbed the shelves to get to this."

I smiled, "Bella, I want you to keep me with you even when you aren't in here."

Her face fell a little. I must have crossed a line.

"Did I say something wrong," I asked.

"It's just that, Jasper, I feel like I'm relying on you entirely too much to clean up my messes and take care of me. I feel like I've done absolutely nothing in return for you."

"Bella, you do enough for me. You have kept me so happy the past couple of weeks. I don't think you even realize how much I appreciate everything you do. You've helped me get past my hurt and pain so far and it keeps getting better with each passing day. All I need is for you to understand that I don't mind being here for you. I enjoy making you feel better. It makes me happy to see you happy."

"I promised to cook you dinner. How about you come over around seven tonight. I'll make my special pork loin and we'll talk more over dinner. Charlie is off with Billy and Harry tonight and I have the house to myself," Bell said.

"I would love to. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Yes, just your smile. It helps me feel better."

With that last comment she turned and walked away, still adorned in my flannel shirt. I could get it back from her later.

I drove home in the best mood of my life. I had to hurry up and dress fast. I lived almost forty-five minutes from her house and as soon I got in my door I hastily took a shower, dressed in a nice white button down shirt, dark pants and dress boots. I tucked my freshly washed and dried curls behind my ears and after I was shaved and ready to go, I made my way back to Forks.

The drive was nerve wracking. I couldn't believe I felt this way and I wanted to shower her with as much affection as possible in the little bit of time I got to spend with her. I pulled into the drive of the Swan residence and I saw all the lights in the kitchen on.

I stepped out of the truck quickly realizing that I was a douche bag for not bringing flowers to my girl. I hope she forgave me for that.

I stood at the door waiting on Bella to answer and when she did, she took my breath away.

She was wearing the sexiest pair of black high-heeled shoes I had ever seen. They were adorned in silver bead like things on the top and it made her legs look long and slender. She wore a short black skirt and a beautiful green and blue top. He hair was pulled down in curls around her shoulders and she was wearing a "Kiss the cook" apron.

"Glad you could make it," she said as she led me into the house.

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**A/N: You'll have to excuse me for making this a cliff hanger but there is about to be a TON of emotional stuff coming out next chapter. Bella is going to open up hugely to Jasper and he will too. I have to say huge thanks to the people who encouraged me to write even though I felt like my lifeline had been destroyed. Huge thanks to JennyP for whom is the best friend a girl could ever have. She was even considering surrogate writing for me. Huge thank you to Kennedymommy for the awesome fan she is. Cereleuanblue for being a kick ass beta and to someone new in my life that has taught me that it is ok to move on, Michael S. You are the awesome for everything you do for me. **

**Chapter 8 to follow soon. Hopefully by the weekend if I can piece my poor laptop back together. Thanks for your patience. **


	8. Chapter 8

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 8  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: Finally, it happened. It took long enough for my computer to finally get back to working. So from this point on I should be posting on a regular basis. I've had a ton of things happen since I started this story and it seems as though life is imitating art right now. I've found my Jasper and ironically, he's a lot like the one in this story.**

**

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BellaPOV**

As I led Jasper through the house, my stomach filled with butterflies and I began to wonder if I could make it through the night without falling to pieces. Everything that took place throughout the past couple of months wanted to come crashing down on top of me and I didn't know how much more I could take of Edward and his head games. I needed Jasper to understand that I appreciated everything he did for me.

I didn't know if dinner could even be the tip of the iceberg for the gratitude I felt towards him.

He smiled as he saw the arrangement I sat in the middle of the table and the white tapered candles that I lit before he rang the doorbell. I told him to take a seat and that I would bring the plates out to him.

"Can I help you with anything?" Jasper called to me as I walked into the kitchen.

"No you've done more than your fair share. I've got this," I called back to him.

I stood at the stove and the butterflies hit again. My mother had always told me that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach and I was praying that he enjoyed my cooking. Charlie never complained but then his cooking was no better than my own. I slowly sliced the pork loin and placed a couple of slivers on each plate and then put two really nice sized twice baked potatoes on each plate. I said a silent prayer and headed to the table with the food.

Jasper was standing when I approached the table. He had already popped the cork on the bottle of wine I had chilling at the table and was pouring the wine into the glasses.

"Bella, that smells wonderful," he said as I sat the plates at both our seats. Jasper walked up to me and pulled the chair out for me and as I sat he pushed me forward, just like any southern gentleman would do for his girl.

He took his seat and pulled the cloth napkin from around his utensils and stared down at his plate. He then looked up at me and smiled.

"You know what's funny?" he said as he began slicing his pork, "Charlotte never cooked. She always had a nanny that did everything for her and her mom never taught her to cook. I did all the cooking. It is kind of nice to not have to do it all the time."

I smiled. "I cook all the time. It's a way for me to relieve the stress of the day. The problem was Edward always wanted to eat out. I secretly thought he didn't like my cooking."

Jasper placed a small slice of the pork into his mouth and he smiled. "Edward was crazy to not like your cooking. This is wonderful."

I felt my cheeks get hot and I blushed. "Thanks, it was my grandmother's recipe."

He kept shoveling the food in his mouth and I felt so much better about myself. He stopped halfway when he realized I wasn't eating.

"Bella, aren't you hungry?" he asked.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. The stress and frustration of the months that passed finally reached its breaking point. It wasn't the stress though that had me crying. It was the relief that I could finally get over everything that has gone on the past couple of months. Jasper had given me that outlet to be myself and I no longer felt like I could let Edward affect my emotions anymore.

"Bella, what's wrong," he asked as he pulled the chair up beside me. I felt the tears fall from my cheeks and splash onto my dinner plate.

"I'm just so grateful for you. I've never felt as happy as I do when I'm around you," I sniffled out. Jasper reached and grabbed my hand. "I've worked so hard to let things go with Edward and you have given me that extra push to want to be myself. I've pretended for so long that I needed to be someone I wasn't around him. With you I can be myself."

"Of course you can, Bella. I wouldn't ask for anything else out of you. I care so much about you and seeing the way that he can hurt you with just words makes me so angry at him sometimes. The worst part about it all is that when you begin to cry I feel so helpless and I just don't know what to do to make you feel better."

I sniffled again but at least the crying had almost completely stopped. Jasper was holding onto my hand and it felt right with his fingers intertwined into mine. He kept stroking my hair and didn't take his eyes off me.

"Jasper, I can let go of Edward and the things he's done to me. But I feel like I need to explain to you what it was like for me so that way you understand why I feel like he can sneak that hold on me at anytime."

Jasper looked at me confused. "Bella, you don't have to explain anything to me at all I promise you. I understand that he wasn't exactly the best husband in the world and I don't blame you at all for the way you feel about him."

"Jasper, what was the one thing in life that you always wanted to do?"

He again looked at me confused. I'm quite certain that I was going to drive him crazy with my irrational train of thought.

"I always wanted to be a carpenter Bella. It was my calling since I was a little kid. My dad would fix things up around the house and I always found myself helping him. Why do you ask?"

"Well imagine that for years you were told you couldn't do something. Imagine that every single time you looked for support from that one person that was supposed to love you forever they would laugh at you and tell you that you couldn't do something."

Tears began welling up in my eyes again and I didn't know if I could make it through the conversation.

"Bella, I always had support of my family. What happened to make you feel like you didn't have support?"

"Edward loved me. I know he did. He had his ways of showing it but in my mind I felt like he tried extremely hard to keep me under his wraps. After high school, despite my thoughts that we were too young to get married, I went against my better judgment and did it anyway. When I explained to Edward that I wanted to go to school to become a teacher, he laughed in my face. He told me that I would never be a strong enough person to demand respect from my students."

The tears began to fall again and Jasper grabbed my hand tighter.

"Bella, you don't…"

"I do Jasper. This is the best therapy for me now, unless you don't want to hear this?"

Jasper nodded and said, "I'm all ears."

"After the first year of marriage I got accepted to Washington State and each time I would bring home anything lower than an A minus, Edward would tell me that it wasn't good enough. It was easy for Edward. He always made perfect grades. I was always afraid to take home anything to show him. He graduated first in our graduating class which he continuously hung over my head."

Jasper shook his head, "That son-of-a-bitch. How dare he tell you it wasn't good enough?" Jasper's face held tension and he was grinding his teeth.

"It didn't stop with school. Once I received my teaching certification, it was hard for me to find a job as a teacher. He chopped it up to me not making good enough grades in college. So I became a stay at home wife and desperately tried to find a teaching job. I kept the house clean enough but it was never to his approval. He came home one day after I'd scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees and told me it looked like a tornado had come through the house."

I began to sob harder and the thought of the coldness that radiated from Edward's face each time he told me that I wasn't good enough to do something.

"Bella, that is absolutely horrible. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with that all these years. It is so unfair to you and you are worth way more than that."

Jasper stood up and grabbed me by the hand. He pulled me close to him and held me tight.

"I promise you from this point on you will never have to hear that you aren't good enough for anything. You are too smart, too beautiful for anyone to tell you different. You are a great girl and I am so glad to have you in my life," Jasper said into my hair.

I smiled as I wiped the tears from my eyes. I sat back down at the table and realized I'd ruined our special dinner and I felt awful.

"Jasper, I'm sorry I ruined dinner. I didn't mean to start a fuss about all my problems."

"Don't you ever apologize for needing to talk. That's what I'm here for."

"I'm scared that if I keep this up then you'll get tired of hearing me complain about my relationship with Edward."

"I'll make you a deal. If you promise to not get tired of my rants about Charlotte, then I won't get tired of yours about Edward. We'll be each other's shoulder to cry on."

I smiled. "I'd like that."

Jasper grabbed my hand and rubbed it softly.

"Now eat Bella. This food is too good to go to waste."

After dinner was complete, I walked Jasper to the door and kissed him goodnight. I would have loved for him to stay with me that night but after everything I got off my chest, I felt the desire to stay the night alone.

I stared out the window at the full moon and hoped to God that things would hurry up and get right for once in my life.

**JasperPOV**

"Emmett, how the hell could he have treated her that way?"

The next day after the great dinner Bella made for me, I had a ton of questions that needed answers. Emmett was my sounding board for everything.

"Seriously Jasper, he always treated her great around us. She always seemed happy. I had no idea it was that bad."

Emmett held a piece of drywall as I nailed it up.

"Well she was pretty shook up about all this. I hated seeing her that way. Why can't he just leave her alone."

"Leave who alone," Rosalie asked from the doorway.

"Jasper had a not so pleasant conversation with Bella last night about her marriage with Edward. Apparently he was a dick to her throughout their marriage."

"I could have told you that," Rosalie said as she sipped on her coffee.

"Baby, you shouldn't be drinking that. The doctor said no caffeine. And what the hell are you doing on your feet. You should be resting," Emmett said with a ton of concern in his voice.

"It is decaf, and I can get up whenever I want. I was bored and wanted to see what you guys were up to."

Emmett shook his head.

"So you knew Bella and Edward weren't happy?" I asked her.

"Actually, Edwards was pretty fucking content. It was Bella who was unhappy. He treated her like she was beneath him but she never spoke up to him. If that had been me I would have put his ass in his place."

Emmett shook his head, "Yeah she would have."

"Why did she agree to marry him?" I asked as I measured a piece of drywall.

"I think she was worried that no one else would love her as much as he loved her. It was more out of fear of being alone. I tried to tell her it was a bad idea. She wouldn't listen to me."

"I just can't believe he was that awful to her. Why do you think he's trying to get her back now?"

"Wait, what?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah the other day, he had a meeting with her at the lawyer office and he offered her the engagement ring back. It's like he can't leave her alone."

Rosalie scoffed. "Maybe he can't find someone to treat like shit. He probably knows that she's the only one who would put up with his crap."

"Maybe so? I think I need to have a talk with him."

"Jasper, I don't think that is a great idea. He can be a lion. He'll wait until he can attack and you'll never know what hit you," Emmett said.

"Well I'm tired of him treated Bella like shit. I think she needs someone to stand up for her and if that person needs to be me then so be it."

--------

I sat in the drive of Emmett and Rosalie's estate and stared at my cell phone for what seemed like an eternity.

I was trying my damndest to grow the balls to call Edward and ask him to meet me for drinks. I had to talk to him about his behavior towards Bella. It was getting completely out of hand.

I finally dialed the number.

"Hello this is Edward Cullen," the voice at the other end said.

"Hey what's up Edward, it is Jasper. How about meeting me for a beer this afternoon? I know you said to give you a call whenever I'd like to get together."

"Sure man, I'd love to. Same sports bar? I'm in town for the day."

"Sounds good, see you at six?" I asked.

"Okay. Talk to you when I get there."

The drive to Port Angeles had me completely nerve wracked. What happened if he took offense to it all and it came to a fight? I then realized quickly that when it came to Bella it didn't matter. I would defend her until I couldn't anymore. I just loved her that much.

I waited patiently inside the sports bar and downed half my beer before I saw Edward walk through the door.

He saw me and waved. I nodded back at him.

He sat down next to me and said, "So, what's up? I was kind of shocked that you called."

"Why were you shocked?" I asked.

"Well, I know that you and Bella are seeing each other and I just thought it would be weird for you to want to be all buddy-buddy with me."

The waitress came by and took his beer order.

"That's actually why I asked you to meet me here today. Edward, I know the things you did to her throughout your marriage with her and I'll be honest, I was quite unhappy with the way you treated her."

"I don't know what you mean," he said.

"Seriously? Have you ever had anyone tell you that you weren't good enough to do this or smart enough to do that? You did that to Bella and she can't seem to get over it."

"I'm sure she was over exaggerating the whole thing," Edward said with a smirk on his face. It took every single bit of energy I had to not slap it off his face.

"Well, it seemed like she wasn't. She's still hurt by the things you did to her. I'm here, to ask politely if you could please just let her go. Let her be her own person. She's ready to put everything behind her and she needs to move on. And so do you."

Edward's smirk quickly became a scowl and I could sense the anger radiating off him.

"Jasper, I'm only going to say this once. Back the fuck off of me and Bella. She doesn't realize it but she's meant to be with me. I'm the only one that can keep her straight. She's got the weakest personality I've ever seen in someone and she needs a strong personality like mine to keep her in order. So your best bet is to leave us alone."

I had finally had enough of his bullshit.

I stood up and got into his face.

"Edward Cullen, I don't take threats very lightly and I will say this. If you EVER come near Bella again, I'll make sure it is your last time."

Edward got down off his barstool and got right back into my face.

"Jasper, you don't want to start shit with me. You don't know what you are getting yourself into."

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm keeping Bella from ever getting hurt again. You need to back the fuck off, right now."

"Alright you guys, calm it down or else I'll have to kick both of you out," a large bouncer said from beside us.

"That's ok, I'm just leaving," I said as I threw a twenty down on the table.

I gave Edward one last look and was bound and determined that the next time I saw him, his ass would be on the ground.

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**A/N: Great googly-moogly. If you only knew how hard it was to write this chapter. Like I said in the opening A/N … it was life imitating art and well, now I feel much better. I think I'm finally over that dreaded writer's block that has had me on hold for months now. I think being in my new apartment and finally being able to settle down finally got me in the right frame of mind.**

**HUGE thanks to my beta cereuleanblue for her great beta work. Also an ever huger, grander thanks to Miss JennyP who somehow or another lit a fire under my ass last night and got me back into writing. I know all of you have been asking about Broken Promises and it will be posted this week, from James' POV. **

**Tune in next time to see if Jasper can kick Edward's ass. I have five dollars on the southern boy.**


	9. Chapter 9

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 9  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: I know. I suck. I'm horrible. I don't know how to write anymore… but you know what, I finally made a huge effort and it felt great to finally write. **

**

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BellaPOV**

"I just don't get it Rosalie; it's almost as if I could get over Edward completely if he just left me alone."

I sat beside Rose as she continued to go through boxes of things from high school. She pulled out several old books of photographs and it was pretty cool that she kept all these things. She was like the record keeper of our childhood years and it always seemed like I was stepping back in time as she flipped the pages.

"I know Bella, but you have to look at it from Edward's point of view. He was really in love with you and letting you go may not be as easy for him as it was for you."

The way she said it kind of hurt my feelings a bit. It seemed like she was blaming me for the demise of our marriage. My face fell and I got real quiet.

"I-I didn't mean it like that," Rosalie said. "I just meant it like you know, you are ok with moving on now. Edward just can't come to terms with it."

"You are right. Pulling that stunt at the lawyers office the other day didn't help much either."

"I know, that wasn't fair of him to pull that."

Rosalie was beginning to show a little. She had a small baby bump and it was so awesome to see her and Emmett so happy. I felt a little jealous of the love they had for each other. I wanted nothing more than to have that same kind of feeling again. I was falling in love with Jasper, no doubt about that. But the mere fact of letting someone get that close to me again had me in all kinds of trouble.

I didn't know if I could fall that way again.

"You know, I would have to say, I didn't think he had it in him." Rosalie said.

"You mean Edward's attempts to swallow me whole?" I asked.

"No you silly. I know how overbearing Edward is. I mean Jasper. He's really falling for you isn't he?"

"I think he is. I'm just scared to death of allowing myself to get so close again."

"Well I told him the other day that if he was going to do this, then to be careful with you. I'm putting my two cents in here to say that I don't think it's a good idea to jump into something so fast with the ink still drying on the divorce papers but if it makes the two of you happy then I don't see a reason why not."

"Thanks Rose. By the way, have you seen Jasper at all today?"

"No I haven't seen him since yesterday. I know him and Emmett were supposed to get together today to finish some drywall in the baby's room." She pushed around some other things in a box next to her.

"You know I think I need to go to the bathroom. The baby is putting way more pressure on my bladder and I need to go more often. It's the only time I can get up and Emmett isn't yelling at me."

I helped her up as she walked slowly into the bathroom. I felt sorry for her constantly having to lie on the couch or in the bed but she was taking it all in stride.

While she was gone I glanced through some more of the things from high school. Inside the giant box was her sash from when she was homecoming queen. I also found a picture of her and Emmett at that same homecoming game. She had a giant smile on her face and I knew just by that picture that they were destined to be with each other.

I found another book of high school photographs and each one I saw Jasper in. He always smiled in high school. I remember now that he had a great personality and then it hit me.

_If I had only paid him some sort of attention. Maybe, just maybe I wouldn't have had to deal with the heartache. Neither he nor I would have had to suffer._

High school changes people though. It's what we become afterwards that makes us who we are. I'm sure Emmett and Rosalie have changed a bit since, so has Alice.

Maybe it was one of those things where we all needed to grow up to figure out who we were.

As I flipped through another book a large envelope fell out of the book.

The envelope was blue and it simply said, "Isabella."

_Why would an envelope addressed to me be in Rosalie's box?_

I slowly slid my finger under the flap of the envelope and lifted it. I unfolded the piece of paper and I gasped at what I read.

_Dearest Isabella,_

_Day after day, week after week I've watched you from afar. My heart simply jumps for joy each time you walk into the room and the mere idea of being next to you makes me smile. When you walk by and the smell of your hair hits my nose, my heart swells with happiness. The worst part of it though is I could never tell you any of this to your face. I know you are with Edward but Isabella, I don't like the way he treats you. I would never treat you as a possession. I would have loved you with ever single ounce of my life and my being. You deserve to be treated like a princess and I would do anything to have you with me. I'm sure that this letter will make you either scared to be around me or flattered that I think this way about you but remember, I will always feel this way about you. From the first moment I saw you, I wanted to be with you. So Isabella, I beg of you to give me a simple chance to tell you all this to your face. If you don't want to talk about it, then simply ignore this and go on with your life. I would completely understand but I wanted you to know all this. At least my conscience would be clear._

_I love you with every ounce of my being,  
Jasper_

I felt the tears falling from my cheeks as they hit the piece of paper in front of me. Jasper had always loved me. He loved me in high school and I didn't even realize it.

I saw Rosalie from the corner of my eye. As I lifted my head to meet her gaze, she had her hand over her mouth.

"Rosalie, why do you have this letter?"

She was speechless.

"Rosalie… why do you have this letter?" I asked again.

"I'm so sorry Bella, I can't."

She left the room and went up the stairs.

I sat on the couch with the letter in my hands trying to figure out why on earth I never got it and why on earth Rosalie had the letter. I needed answers and I needed them right away.

**JasperPOV**

My temper was flared still the next day. How dare Edward Fucking Cullen threaten me? I wanted nothing more than to rip that smirk right off his face.

I paced back and forth in my apartment afraid to go over to Emmett and Rosalie's house. I was scared that if Edward was there then I would do something drastic.

I finally called Emmett and asked him to meet me at the hardware store so we could pick up some more supplies. We would have to have them delivered for sure. Drywall was a bitch to load in our jeeps.

As we waited in line at Home Depot, I was really quiet. Emmett knew something was up.

"Dude, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?"

"Your punk ass brother, that's who."

"Now Jasper, I think my brother is as much of a fuck up as anyone, but he's still my brother."

"I know. I'm sorry. He threatened me yesterday, and I returned the favor by telling him that if I ever caught him around Bella, I would fuck him up."

"Damn Jasper, I didn't realize you had it in you. How did he react?"

"He's still in love with Bella. He said he was going to try to win her back. I don't like this, at all."

We paid the lady for all our supplies as the pulled them over the side to have them delivered to us.

As we got back into the Jeep, Emmett's cell phone rang. I knew the ringtone and it had to be Rosalie. Hers was "Afternoon Delight." She hated that ring tone with a passion but we all thought it was hilarious.

"Hey babe what's up? Babe, why are you crying? Calm down, is everything ok?"

Emmett shook his head more and said, "Ok baby, we'll be there in a min… we as in Jasper. What? Ok fine I'll drop him back off at his house."

He slapped his phone closed and looked over at me a little more relaxed.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just think she's being hormonal. Is it cool if I take you back to your place?"

"Sure yeah, that'll be fine. I need to figure out where Bella is anyway. I wanted to see if she wanted to meet me for dinner."

Emmett dropped me back off at my apartment before he headed home. I paced around my empty apartment again. I really hated being here alone. I grabbed my cell phone and made several attempts to call Bella. As the afternoon progressed I still had no word from her.

I ended up falling asleep on the couch later on that night and didn't even know my cell phone had gone off in the night.

**BellaPOV**

I needed answers and Rosalie wouldn't talk to me. Emmett said he had no idea how on earth the letter got into Rosalie's stuff. I tried calling Alice but her and Aro were off at some conference in Seattle this weekend and there was no way I could get with her.

The only other person who could have been behind something like this was Edward. The mere idea of even talking to him had my stomach in knots but I knew it was the only way to find out what exactly was going on.

As I walked out of the doors of Emmett and Rosalie's house, I took what shred of courage I had left and hopped in my truck and drove to Edward's apartment halfway between here and Seattle. I wasn't even going to call him. I wanted him to be shocked and surprised that I showed up at his door.

I sat in the driveway of his apartment and debated on whether or not this was the best of ideas or not. I had no choice and got out of the truck.

I stood at the door and finally pushed the doorbell. I waited for what seemed like an eternity before someone fiddled with the door.

Standing in the doorway was a beautiful curly red-haired woman. She was tall, with piercing green eyes. She was dressed to the nines and her smile could have wounded someone with the brightness.

"May I help you?" she hissed.

"I'm here to see Edward," I said and the gulped.

"I'm sorry but Edward is… indisposed at the moment." She was holding a glass of red wine and it seemed as though I could be interrupting something.

"Oh well, could you tell him that Bella stopped by?"

"Oh Bella, you are the ex-wife, am I correct?"

"Um, yeah I am. I have some… paperwork to go over with him," I said clutching the letter to me tightly.

"Well I'll let him know you stopped by," and she slammed the door in my face.

I stood as the sky above opened up and drenched me with every ounce of rain that fell from the sky. I ran to the truck and turned the engine. I wanted to die of humiliation. I don't know why on earth I felt so betrayed. Edward was no longer my concern and yet I felt something…

I actually felt… jealous.

_Why the hell am I jealous? I didn't want to be with him anymore. I let him go._

I slammed my hands on the steering wheel and screamed out in pain. I was so fucked up in the head. I wanted to let him go, but hated the idea of someone else having him.

_You can't have your cake and eat it too, Bella Swan._

I knew then that I was really beginning to lose my mind. I needed to make that decision to fully let him go but as the thoughts of that red head in the room with him, catering to his every wish and desire hit me, I began to cry heavier.

I stopped the tears as good as I could and drove down the road leading back into Forks. I couldn't stop crying. It was just too much for me.

As I crossed the town limit sign, I didn't even see the limb in the road. I saw it at the last min and swerved but it was too late. The front end of my truck hit it and I lost control on the rain slicked road. All I could remember was the sound of twisted metal and broken glass and then darkness.

**JasperPOV**

"Dude, answer the door. I know you are in there. Hurry up, you are needed."

I heard banging on the door. I reached over and noticed I had over fifteen missed calls at it was four in the morning.

"I'm coming, damn."

As I swung the door open, Emmett looked horrible.

"What is it, is Rosalie ok?"

"Rose is fine. Jasper… its Bella."

"What, what happened?"

"She hit a large limb and lost control of the truck. She's at the hospital. It's pretty bad."

I felt myself get dizzy but then realized I needed to keep my composure.

"Let's go," I said. I tried so hard to prepare for what I saw when I got there.

* * *

**A/N: A lot of things will change from this point on. It's going to be a rollercoaster ride for everyone involved. Huge secrets… gah I love it.**

**Huge thanks to JenniP, Cereuleanblue and KennedyMommy3 (My members of Team Fire and Ice) for the support and definitely to kM3 who has all but cussed me out to write some more. You ladies are what keep me going!**

**And of course to my readers. I love all of you!! DEARLY!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 10  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: Sorry to leave you with a cliffie. I tried my hardest to have this written so you wouldn't be left like that for long.**

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JasperPOV**

She looked worse than it actually was. Her arm was in a cast. Her face was bumped and bruised and she was going to have knee problems. She had broken ribs and was bandaged to hell and back. Luckily for her she didn't break anything else but it was bad enough for her to still be unconscious. I felt so helpless and it wasn't fair that Bella had to go through this. She's already gone through enough.

I sat in the chair next to her and watched her sleep. I wanted her to open her eyes so bad and let me know she was okay. I wanted to hold her and tell her it would be.

Every breath she took seemed painful. I watched as her heart monitor beeped and the drips of her IV seemed so loud. The rest of the hospital was so quiet.

"Charlie, she'll be fine," Dr. Cullen said as he reassured her dad. I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair, worried to death about his only daughter. "When will she wake up?" I overheard him ask.

"She'll wake when her body's ready. It's like a natural reaction for her mind to shut down after that kind of trauma. It'll keep her from being in so much pain."

Charlie shook his head. He walked back in the door. I looked up at him and went to stand for him to sit down.

"No, no Jasper, you can sit. I can't sit still long enough. Thank you for being here with her. You have no idea help this is."

"Anything I can do to help," I said.

He paced back and forth in the room and it was starting to make me nervous. "Charlie, why don't you get some coffee? You'll ware a hole in the floor pacing like that."

He shook his head. "You do have a point there. I'll be right back, if she wakes have the nurse page me."

I smiled and shook my head.

I looked over at her belongings in a neat pile in the closet. They had to cut her clothes off her and Charlie had to bring more clothes for her to go home in. I just hope she can go home soon.

I crouched down in the chair. You would think if you have to sit next to the person you love in a hospital, they'd at least make you comfortable.

I thought about what would have had her out like that late at night. It seemed like it would be so unlike her to just drive down that road, especially during a storm that bad.

I stood up to stretch my legs and as I walked around the room, I did what every single human wants to do in a room – I looked through all the drawers. The cabinets amazed me. I wondered what they used half that crap in those plastic bags and shuddered at the thought of it. I closed the cabinet and went to folding Bella's clothes.

As I pulled a shirt from a pile a blue envelope fell out of it.

It looked eerily familiar and when I flipped it to the front, I saw my handwriting with the words, "Isabella" on the front.

My jaw dropped wide open. I opened the envelope to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me and sure enough inside the envelope was the letter I wrote Bella in high school.

"What the…?"

It hit me that maybe she did have the letter all along and chose to ignore it for the love of Edward. If that was the case, then why did she hold on to it? Why did she have it on her when she wrecked?

I heard her whimper and I looked over to the bed to see her wriggling around.

"Bella," I gasped. I ran to her side and as she woke, she groggily looked in my direction.

"Jasper, what happened?"

"You were in a bad wreck," I said.

"All I remember is the rain, the truck," she whispered.

I got up briefly to let the nurse know she was awake. She came in to take vitals and I asked for her to page Bella's dad like I promised.

"Well you are okay now, you're in the hospital and they're getting you fixed up, I promise."

She lifted her good arm and her fingertips caressed my cheek. "How long have I been out?"

"At least two days. You had me so worried Bella."

She dropped her hand and then squirmed a little.

She noticed the envelope in my hand still.

"Wow, they were able to keep that for me?" she said with a slight smile.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

"I …" she took a deep swallow and I got her a glass of water. She took a sip.

"I found it in some of Rosalie's high school stuff."

Rosalie. What the hell was Rosalie doing with it?

"I asked her about it and she freaked out and ran out of the room. She wouldn't tell me anything about it," she whispered.

"Well, we can talk about it later," I said so she could get some more rest.

"Thanks Jasper… and I… Love…"

She fell back asleep and I was suddenly more awake than I had ever been.

Bella was in love with me. It was a pretty shitty way to find out but nonetheless Bella was in love with me. Or at least I hoped that was what she was going to say to me.

Charlie bolted through the door. He looked disappointed.

"She's okay Charlie. She woke up briefly. I think the pain medication has her sleepy. I need to step out of the hospital for a while. Can you take a rotation?" I asked him.

"Sure Jasper, you've done more than enough. Take a break."

"Thanks I said," as I patted him on the back.

I walked out the hospital with a mission. I needed to know why Rosalie had the envelope.

-----

I drove up the driveway of Emmett and Rosalie's estate and I had to approach this carefully. If I upset Rosalie, Emmett would have my ass. But I needed to know the truth.

I rang the doorbell and Emmett came to the door.

"Hey man, how's Bella?"

"She just woke up a little bit ago but I need to talk to Rosalie if at all possible."

"Sure, she's in the living room."

"Thanks man."

I walked past Emmett and into the living room. Rosalie was propped up watching TV.

"Hey Jazz, how's Bella?"

"She's fine. But I need to talk to you about something, and please Rose, tell me the truth."

She looked a little uneasy. "It's about the letter isn't it?"

"Yeah, actually it is. Where did you get it?"

"Take a seat Jasper. I'll tell you everything." She lifted her feet for me to take a seat and as I did she put her feet back on me. She's lucky that I loved her like a sister or else this would have made me annoyed.

"Bella never got the letter. Edward intercepted it before she had a chance to read it."

That motherfucker. I knew he had something to do with it.

"Edward came to me one afternoon upset as hell about your letter. He wanted to ring your neck and I had to calm him down."

"So you kept this letter from me for all these years? How is that fair to me or Bella, Rosalie?"

"I did it because Edward asked me to. He's Emmett's brother. I did it because he made me promise to never speak of it again. Bella found it the other night and I feel awful. I feel like I caused that wreck."

She began to sob and I felt awful. I didn't want Rosalie to feel at fault for anything. She was just sticking to her word and promise to Edward.

I got up and knelt down beside her. I grabbed her hand and said, "Rose, I don't blame you. You were only keeping your word. Don't worry about it. I just needed to know."

She sniffled some more. "So you aren't angry with me?"

"Of course I'm not. I'm angrier with Edward. He seems to find ways to fuck things up for people. I think it's time for me to share more words with him."

"Jasper, please, don't do anything stupid. Edward is still in love with Bella and if you do something, I'm sure he'll find a way to make you look like the bad guy. He did that the last time. After he found the letter, he filled Bella's head with all kinds of things. He told her that you were really not that great of a guy. I'm shocked she didn't remember that."

I was then royally pissed. Edward was so fucking manipulative and yet he got the girl the first time. Not this time. This time, he was going to have to sit on the sidelines while Bella and I shared our happiness.

**EdwardPOV**

"Who as at the door," I asked as I rounded the corner.

"Wrong house. So where were we? Oh yes. Take a seat Edward."

I sat down on the chair next to her and as she sat on the couch, Victoria placed her glass of red wine on the coffee table.

"I don't normally drink on the job, but this is too good of a year to pass up," the red haired psychologist said.

"So, Edward, tell me, why did you call me?"

She pulled a pen out of her bag and began taking notes in a large yellow legal pad.

"I called you because I've been a horrible person. I feel like if I fix myself then I can get back the person, I mean people I love in my life."

She scribbled something down on her pad and continued to ask questions.

"So, this person or people – why do you feel the need to gain their affection? Why do you want them in your life if they couldn't accept you the way you are?"

I ran my fingers through my hair.

"I grew up in a family where everything was perfect. My mother was the mom of all moms. She kept a neat and tidy, organized household and my dad was the great doctor. I'm used to perfection. I loved Bella with every single ounce of my being and my strive for perfection is what drove us apart. I need help letting go of making everything perfect."

She wrote more notes down.

"Well Edward, after reviewing the questionnaire that I had you fill out a bit ago, I can see where this is going. It seems to me like you suffer from a form of narcissism."

"Whoa, wait a second. I'm in no way shape or form a narcissist."

She stood up and pointed at the perfectly arranged candles on the table next to me.

"Edward, I'm afraid you are wrong. You've brought along with you your mother's strive for perfection. It's almost a form of OCD. A place for everything and everything in its place. You wanted the same for Bella. You wanted her in "her place."

I looked at Victoria like she lost her mind. "I never wanted anything but happiness for Bella."

"Tell me more about her. What was she like? Did she have any hobbies? What were her career ambitions?"

She sat back down and placed her glasses back on and began writing again.

"She was a great wife. She was always gracious towards my friends and family and even my co-workers."

"Okay but, what about her life. What did she want out of life?"

"She wanted to be a teacher."

"And is she one now?"

I shook my head yes. "She _finally_ got a job at Forks Highs School." I then realized I over accentuated the word "finally."

"I see. Did you have faith in your wife Edward? Did you push her towards excellence or did you let her find her own way?"

I started to see Bella's face after she brought home her final grade from college. She was so excited that she made a B-plus on her grade. I had a huge smile on my face.

Then my face quickly fell.

_Bella, you'll never get a great teaching job with just a B-plus._

"I'm… oh my God. I'm a horrible person."

Victoria looked over her glasses at me.

"How are you a horrible person Edward?"

"All Bella wanted was a little encouragement and if it wasn't perfect I'd tell her she didn't try hard enough."

I put my head down into my hands. I quickly realized that all this time, I was in fact the worst person on this planet for the way I treated her. All she wanted was a little acceptance, a kind word and small amount of direction from me. She didn't need a husband who told her she wasn't good enough. I began to sob into my hands.

I heard Victoria click her pen and she stood up.

"Edward, I think you realize what you've done. My time here is up but I'll definitely need to schedule another appointment with you. You've made excellent progress with just one visit. I'm sure by next week you'll realize more things to make you a better person."

She handed me a tissue. I wiped the tears from my eyes. She then reached out a card to me.

"I've already scheduled your next appointment. I'll see you next week."

Victoria then grabbed her briefcase and shut the front door behind her as she walked out. I went to the kitchen and poured a glass of the same red wine Victoria was drinking. My iPhone began to vibrate in my pocket and it was Alice.

"Hello…"

"Oh thank God, Edward… its Bella… she's been in a horrible wreck."

I nearly dropped the phone but quickly caught it in my other hand.

"What do you mean?"

"She was coming back from your direction and hit a limb in the road. She's at the hospital right now. Oh God Edward she looks horrible."

Alice began to sob and I told her I was on my way. I grabbed my keys from the counter and ran out the door.

* * *

**A/N2: I love it when people realize the mistakes they've made. Edward just finally realized that in fact he was a fuck up. Hopefully he'll learn to let things go. You'll just have to wait and see what happens next.**

**Huge thanks to the ladies at Team Fire and Ice (TeamFireAndIceFic: JenniP, cereuleanblue & Kennedymommy3) for their outstanding support. Huge thanks to AngstGoddess003 who will be working on our new fanfic site to hopefully publish soon.**

**Also, huge thanks to my sweetie, Mikey. He's been so patient with me tonight as I wrote this chapter. He's my rock, my salvation and my love. **


	11. Chapter 11

**~ Indention of the Heart ~**

**Chapter 11**

**ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: All this stuff belongs to Mrs. SM... well except the story line so people... don't plagiarize. It's not cool when I find my story written under someone else's name. Thanks to the ladies of Twitter and Fandom who found it, notified me of it and had it taken down! You ladies are the all to the some and deserve hearts in the sand for sure!!**

**

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BellaPOV**

I don't remember it all very clearly. The sound of the crash is the last thing I recall. The way the glass sounded as it shattered around me and the way the sound of twisting metal made me almost wretch.

It could have also been the images of the red head at the door of Edward's house that made me feel violently ill.

As I sat up in bed, the room was empty. Dad was nowhere to be found and Jasper had left hours before. I was scheduled to finally leave tomorrow but I just didn't know if I could.

I felt the hot sting of tears fall from my eyes and I wanted so bad to find out what all this meant. The letter from Jasper had me so confused and then there was the mysterious red head at Edward's door.

Why did I care so much? I couldn't and shouldn't be jealous of this. I wanted my life away from Edward. I wanted to leave him.

Then why am I so hurt by it all?

I looked down at my broken arm. It hurt. The pain hurt worse than anything I'd felt before. Strike that – it hurt just as bad as my heart did when I realized that Edward wasn't the man I thought I loved.

Then there was Jasper. There were so many things that he would do for me to make me happy. How could I not be happy about a man who loved me – or at least he did at one time. The words from his letter kept ringing in my ears.

I wanted to know from Rosalie why on earth this happened. The moment I got out of this stupid hospital room, she was definitely the first person I needed to speak with.

I reached for a cup of water on my bedside tray. Of course still being groggy didn't help any and I tipped the cup and spilt water all over the tray. I tried to reach for the nurses call button but then I dropped the remote.

"Son-of-a..."

"Let me help you with that," a voice rang from beside me.

I looked up and standing beside my bed was Edward. He walked across the room, grabbed a towel out of the bathroom and began sopping up the mess I made. He then put the towel in the sink and picked my remote up and handed it to me.

"Um, thanks..." I said. My hand was trembling as I reached for the remote.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he sat down in the chair next to my bed.

"I'll live. It gives me an excuse for a small vacation from school."

He smiled. I admit it, Edward was sexy. His smile was one of the first things that I found attractive about him. His eyes sparkled green and I immediately felt myself lost in them again.

I had to snap myself out of this delusion and fast. I instantly felt guilty as I lowered my eyes to the bed.

"Alice called..." he said. He ran his fingers through his auburn locks and then got really stoic. I fiddled with my covers and looked every direction but his.

"When she called, I don't know... I felt... scared as hell," he said. I heard the tremble in his voice and it almost seemed like he could burst into tears.

"Edward, I'm fine really. I'm pretty good at bouncing back from injury, remember?"

He laughed nervously. I'm sure he was remembering when I fell off the swing set at the park where he was going to propose to me. I damaged my knee pretty bad that afternoon. He delayed the proposal by a week so I could heal a little better.

"I know you are good at bouncing back from injury." His face twisted up again.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

He looked down at his hands and fiddled with a piece of string that was sticking off his jacket. He stopped and looked at me straight in the eyes.

"Bella, I couldn't live in a world where you didn't exist. It's like, even though we aren't together anymore, I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you. I still love you dearly and even though you don't love me back, I'm still going to worry when something happens to you. I can't forget the years we spent together. You were and still are my world."

Shock ran over my face. He, for one of the first times in the existence of our lives, finally pulled down that huge wall he put up for so long. I knew deep down that Edward was capable of love and showing it. The pain hit my heart pretty heavy when I realized it was too late for him to do it.

"Edward, you don't know how long I waited for you to show that you were capable of this type of expression. I've been waiting for years for some shred of human decency from you. I just feel like that maybe it's just a little too late. I'm sorry."

I hung my head again, waiting for the fall out.

"Bella, I'm not asking for you back."

My head immediately shot back up.

"You aren't?"

"No, I'm just asking for your forgiveness for putting you through all this for so long. You are the one person who's put up with more of my bullshit than anyone else in my life. You were the only one who saw all the good in me and I let you down. I just want your forgiveness."

"Edward, I ..."

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

I glanced over at the door and standing, looking like he could pounce, was Jasper.

"Jasper, it's okay, really," I tried to reassure him.

"He doesn't need to be in here upsetting you," Jasper said as he walked around to the other side of the bed.

"He's not really, we were just talking. Everything is okay."

"Well good, but he still needs to leave. He's done nothing but bring more grief to your life."

"You can't tell me what to do," Edward said as he bowed up, ready for a fight.

"That's enough you two," I finally yelled out. Both of them looked at me shocked.

"I've had enough of this bickering. Jasper, Edward was here to apologize and to tell me that he was through with our relationship. You need to just let it go. I have."

Jasper's stone face eased up a bit. "Fine, but I'll hold him to this."

Edward walked over and grabbed my good hand. "Bella, I'm sorry. I'll let the two of you be now."

I watched as Edward walked out of the room and I actually felt sad to see him go. I hated this flood of emotions for his departure. I felt almost guilty with Jasper standing beside me. I wiped away the tears as fast as I could and turned to Jasper, who looked hurt.

"Jasper what's wrong?"

"You still love him don't you?"

How could I answer this question? I've been asking myself the same questions for the past couple of days and there was no real easy way to figure this all out.

"Jasper, I do still love him. It's not the way that I once did though. Edward was my first love and it will be hard to get through all this."

Jasper walked over to the window and looked out over the parking lot. He put his hands in his pockets and sighed.

"I thought I was doing enough to make you forget about him."

"You were and you still are. Each day I find myself thinking less and less of him and more about you. You have to believe me."

"I don't know what to think," Jasper said, not even turning around to look at me. "Your face expression when he walked out just now said it all to me. You still love him. I don't know if I can compete with that."

"Jasper, please, you are helping. Everything you've done so far has made me..."

"Has made you what Bella?"

Silence hit the room. I wanted to say it. Every part of my being wanted to say it. Could I?

Jasper turned around and looked at me finally, tears were streaming from his eyes.

"... has made me fall head over heels in love with you, Jasper Whitlock. I love you with every single ounce of my being and I don't want to be with Edward. I want to be with you."

**JasperPOV**

"You... love me?"

"Yes. I do. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it all but from day one, since our lives have crossed paths, I've fallen in love with you," Bella said as tears streamed down her face too.

"Bella, I... have been waiting so long to hear you say those words. I've loved you since the day you walked into the cafeteria in high school. I wanted to tell you so many years ago and I couldn't. I wrote you this letter..."

I held the blue envelope up.

"I wrote it in the hopes that maybe you felt the same way about me. You never got this though. Edward found it and had Rosalie destroy it. He at least thought she did but she was holding onto it."

"Why would Rose do something like that?" she asked.

"I think she was secretly in love with him. I think she would have done anything for him at that time. But she has Emmett now and no reason to cover for him anymore. She confessed to me."

Bella smiled and patted her bed. I sat down easy next to her and held her hand.

"Isabella Swan, you are my life now. I love you more than you will ever know. I can't even imagine my life without you. These past couple of days have been the worst I've ever gone through. I need you in my life and nothing will ever tear us apart again."

I leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. She kissed me back harder as my hands played with the soft curls that fell over her shoulders.

"Bella, you have made my life so much more bearable. I love you," I whispered into her ear.

"I love you," she whispered back.

We sat in each other's arms for what seemed like an eternity. I finally had to leave. I had work to do with Emmett and I wasn't getting paid to sit in Bella's arms for an eternity. However, if I could get paid doing that, I'd be the happiest man on earth.

"Bella, I hate to do this, but I've got to go. Emmett is expecting me with molding and I better get it there or Rosalie will have my ass."

Bella giggled, "Go ahead baby. I'm going to rest for a while. I love you."

"It feels so good to hear you say that – I love you."

I kissed her softly on the lips and then once on the forehead. She rolled over and I left the room quietly.

---------

The drive back to Emmett's had me elated. I couldn't have been happier. The girl of my dreams was in love with me. That was all I could have ever asked for.

I was whistling as I pulled stacks of molding out the trailer behind my Jeep. Emmett finally emerged to help.

"Someone is in a great mood today," Emmett said as he lifted a stack.

"Of course I am. It's a beautiful day outside, the air is warming up, we're almost done with the baby's room, and Bella told me that she loved me..."

Emmett punched my shoulder, "Good for you, Jazz. I'm glad to see things are working out for you."

"Thanks man."

We walked into the house and as always Rosalie was sitting on the couch. She motioned for me to come in while Emmett took a stack of molding up the stairs.

"Yes ma'am? I asked as I sat down at her feet."

"I wanted to let you know that I really am sorry for all this."

"Rosalie, it's really okay. Bella told me today that she was in love with me."

Rose smiled wide and giggled, "Jazz, I'm so happy for the both of you. I feel like you two were meant to be together."

"You are still being nice to me?" I asked.

"Hormones still. Don't get used to it," she said as she cocked her eyebrow at me.

The rest of the afternoon went by easily and before I realized it, nightfall had come. Bella was getting out of the hospital in the morning and I was going to help Charlie get her home.

I drove home all smiles ready to see my Isabella in the morning.

I parked my Jeep in my lot and grabbed a bag of takeout from the passenger side and trotted up the stairs.

I didn't even notice someone sitting at the top steps.

"Jasper, you haven't changed a bit," a sweet Southern voice spoke.

Standing before me was the one person I never thought I'd see again. The one person who robbed me of my life for so many years and the one person I was ready to forget about.

Charlotte.


	12. Chapter 12

**~ Indention of the Heart ~  
Chapter 12  
ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: So yeah, I hate my job. Well not really, but it's kept me from writing more. So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And I'm sure you'll hate Charlotte even more. Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just like making ex-wives look like bitches. **

**Jasper POV**

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked as I stood before my ex-wife.

"Aww, Jasper, I thought you'd be happier to see me."

Charlotte stood, smoothing the wrinkles out of her extremely short black mini skirt. She wore a pair of FMPs on her oversized feet and I noticed that her sheer hose had a small snag in them. I began to wonder how long she had been waiting on me.

"Charlotte, you are the _last_ person I thought I'd ever see sitting on my steps."

I pushed by and went to my door. I unlocked it and went inside, leaving the door open. I wasn't about to ask that deviant into my apartment, even though something told me I didn't have to. She invited herself in.

"Cute place, who decorated it," she asked as she picked up a photograph of my mom and dad, "and how are your parents?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here," I bluntly said.

"Jasper, why are you being so mean to me?" Charlotte plopped down on my couch, her legs spreading a little too much for my own comfort levels.

"I'm not being mean, I'm being straightforward. I want to know why after all this time you appear at my doorstep as though nothing has happened."

She frowned and poked her bottom lip out.

"That's not nice Jasper. How dare you hurt my feelings like that?"

"Charlotte, this isn't a game. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see you because, well I missed you."

It then hit me. "Did you find out your new man didn't have as much money as you thought?"

She stood up, and grabbed her bag off my coffee table. "Jasper Whitlock, how dare you insinuate I was with him for money only?"

"It's the truth though Charlotte. I never made enough money to satisfy your life style and all the sudden you are here in front of me trying to, I assume, seduce me. How else am I supposed to think?"

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the fridge and popped the top. I took one giant gulp from the bottle and slammed it down on the counter top. I looked at Charlotte as she still stood at the couch side table.

"I – I came to apologize in person for the way I ended things," Charlotte said as she twiddled her thumbs.

"Oh you mean unlike the lovely letter I got from your lawyers office letting me know that you weren't returning to the West coast. Thanks, but I think I got the message loud and clear."

"Jasper, please let me explain," she said walking towards me.

"Charlotte, the letter and well, the divorce said enough for me. You didn't believe in me and that is your problem now, not mine. I'm happy. Deal with it."

She was taken aback by my sudden ability to tell her off. A couple of months ago I wouldn't have been able to do this. Bella has changed me in ways that are definitely for the better.

Charlotte began to cry. She cried really fucking hard. I instantly felt bad for making her feel bad but I couldn't put up with it anymore. I was tired of her fucking with my emotions.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

"Because, Jasper, you obviously don't care about me anymore."

"Of course I don't fucking care anymore. I worked my fingers to the fucking bone to take care of us and what did you do? You ran off to Georgia and decided to stay there. It's not my fault that all this is over with. It is yours. And, now, you'll have to deal with it."

She began to cry harder. Snot was flying everywhere and tears were falling faster that her panties did for that asshole she left me for.

_Shit. This is going to cost me._

I reached out to her and pulled her close to me and gave her a huge hug. "Charlotte listen, you've got to understand. It is over between us. You should have thought long and hard before you made the decisions you made. I'm sorry for being so harsh, but that's just the reality of it."

"If you are t-trying to m-make me feel bet-tter you are d-doing a horrible job at it," she stammered through her tears.

"I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just laying the facts out. Now I think it's best that you catch a flight out of Washington State and go back to Georgia."

"I-I can't," she said as she began to cry harder.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"Mom and dad kicked me out after I told them I wanted you back. They won't let me in the house."

_Fuck Charlotte, way to go._

"That was a really stupid thing to do. Call your mom and dad and tell them that you changed your mind."

"I-I can't," she stammered out again.

"Why not?"

"They aren't in the states. Daddy had to handle some business in Mexico and they won't be back for a couple of weeks. I have no place to stay. Can't I just stay with you?"

_Oh, no you can't!_

"I don't think that'll be a good idea. I can get you a hotel room if I need to, but you are NOT staying here."

"Fine," she said as she walked to the door with her bag. It just hit me that her giant bag wasn't just a big purse, but an overnight bag.

I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

**BellaPOV**

Home felt like the best place in the world to me. As I lay on the couch watching TV, I started missing Jasper a lot and I sent him a text message. Typing with one hand was harder than I thought and it took a while but I finally got it sent.

_**I miss you.**_

I closed my phone and as soon as I sat it down, it buzzed.

_**I miss you too baby. I'll be over in a bit. I have to take care of some business.**_

I flipped through the channels and I quickly realized that there was nothing on TV. I sent Charlie away hours ago. I felt bad having him fuss over me and I knew how much he needed to catch up on paperwork at the station. I had someone covering me at school and I felt awful being a new teacher and all and having to let someone else do my work.

The insurance papers sat on the coffee table in front of me. My old rusty truck wasn't worth as much as I thought and I soon realized I would be saving up for a while for another vehicle. I tried so hard to not concentrate on it but it was still bugging me.

Having your father drive you around in a police cruiser wasn't exactly my idea of a way to travel.

Luckily for me, I could walk and I stood ever so carefully to try to do something around the house. I walked to the mailbox and back. I found a magazine to read, which was an improvement upon my day. I sat at the kitchen table with my arm in a sling flipping the pages.

Finally around seven that afternoon, Jasper showed up at my front door carrying a bouquet of the most beautiful wild flowers, a container of ice cream and takeout food.

"I thought you could use some good food instead of that crappy hospital food that you were so accustomed to."

I smiled warmly, "Thanks, I think I lost five pounds eating that awful stuff."

He brought Italian and arranged everything on the table for me and we sat together and enjoyed our meal. He barely said two words and I could tell something was bothering him but I wasn't about to ask what it was. Jasper would tell me eventually I'm sure.

We finished dinner and sat on the couch eating ice cream and discussing the truck.

"So how much is the insurance company paying you for the damage?"

"Well they totaled it out, which shocked me. I thought that thing would withstand a nuclear fallout."

"So what are you going to do about a vehicle?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. I need to start saving up. They only gave me a couple grand for the truck and it's barely enough to cover a down payment. So I guess Pat and Charlie will be my new BFFs until then," I said pointing to my feet.

"Oh no you're not. You are not walking around after everything you've been through. If I have to personally wake up hours early each morning to get you to work, I'll drive you myself."

I smiled at him again. Always my knight in shining plaid. "Thanks sweetie, but I'm sure I'll figure something out."

"Why don't you leave it up to me for once?" Jasper asked.

"Because it's not your worry."

"It is my worry because it's your worry too. Never forget that we are in this together."

"Are we in this together? I mean you've never officially asked me or anything."

Jasper smiled. He reached for my good hand and said, "Bella Swan, would you do me the pleasure of being my girl, here, now and always."

I smiled, "Yes, Jasper, I will."

He giggled and I giggled. It was silly but so lighthearted, which is what I figured we both needed after everything that has happened the past couple of weeks.

Jasper got quiet and brushed a strip of hair away from my face. He smiled and I blushed. His fingertips grazed the side of my cheek and he cupped it bringing my face to his. His lips softly brushed mine and I felt chills as they ran down my spine.

Jasper slowly kissed the bottom of my lip, sucking it between his and I felt my heart speed up. His tongue brushed against it and my caught myself letting out a gentle moan. He reacted by moaning back into my mouth and before I realized what was going on, we were a mess of lips, tongues and moans. He stood and I stood and he pressed his body next to mine as the kissing fury continued. His hands grabbed my hips and smashed my arm between him and me and it hurt, bad.

"Ouch!" I yelled out.

"Oh, hell, Bella, I'm so sorry."

Jasper softly kissed my arm and shoulder. "I guess we got a little carried away huh?"

"Well, I didn't exactly mind it," I said.

"I guess I better go," Jasper said.

"Why? You can stay longer."

"No, I've got to get up early in the morning and help Emmett with some work but I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."

I walked him to the door and he softly kissed my cheek goodnight.

Next time, I wouldn't let him leave so easily.


	13. Chapter 13

**~ Indention of the Heart ~**

**Chapter 13**

**ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: I know it's been a while, and this is short. Trust me, the next one won't be late or short. I had to let you know where it was going. I hated to do this. Trust me.**

**Revised A/N: I didn't realize that the paragraph breaks didn't take place between the background story. I kept getting complaints that the story was confusing. I didn't mean to make it that way. My apologies. **

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Bella**

Sometimes you know things are too good to be true. You realize it when it's too late. I wanted to erase it all from my mind. Standing in the doorway like some stupid girl who couldn't understand why. Why on earth would he hurt me like this? He no more than a week ago told me how much he loved me and there she stood, dressed in nothing but a T-shirt and panties, hair all messed up and saying that he was gone to the store to get more things for the house, I finally then understood. I knew that my heart was just broken by a man who I never thought possible to do it.

"Oh, okay," is all my hurt mind could utter between my lips. "I guess I'll call him later."

I slowly walked down the steps to my rental car and sat at the steering wheel for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn't drive away. My mind was numbed like the feeling of having a tooth extracted. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, hell, I wanted to beat the ever-living shit out of my car but I couldn't even comprehend what I'd just seen.

Jasper hurt me worse than anything Edward had ever said or done.

What could I do about this? I had no choice but to turn the engine, put on my seat belt and drive. I drove for so long I had no idea where I was going until my car pulled in the driveway. I sat for a moment and realized where my unconscious mind took me.

It took me back to Edward's house.

I looked up at the house with tears in my eyes. I was stupid. I came crawling back. Could I not do anything on my own? I hated myself for even being here, but he was all that I had now. Charlie wouldn't understand, neither would the rest of my friends. He was all I knew and loved and damnit Jasper, he fucked things up. We could have been something together.

**Bella Before**

I woke up with a splitting headache. The stupid pain medication, though making me feel better, gave me the worst migraines ever. I realized that I had a couple of missed calls from Jasper and I was hoping that everything was okay. I tried calling back throughout the day and not once did he answer. I knew that Rosalie was having problems with her pregnancy and she was the first person I called when I couldn't get a hold of him. She told me that she had not heard from him all day.

I finally threw my hands up in the air and got into the rental car that my father said I needed to have. He was paying for it. I hated that he was doing that but he was trying to fight help and I appreciated it more than he knew.

I drove towards Port Angeles and hoped for the best. Maybe Jasper just had a rough day and wanted to be alone, but the moment I got closer to this house, I felt a creepy sensation that something wasn't right. His Jeep was in the drive and I pulled in behind him.

I slowly walked up the driveway and the steps to the door of his apartment. I knocked loudly and no one came to the door. So I rang the doorbell and stood waiting.

**Jasper**

"Charlotte, for the last fucking time, what the hell are you doing in my house?" I blared at her. She looked confused, distraught.

"Jasper, admit it, you want me back just as much as I do."

Charlotte broke into my house and no stood before me wearing nothing, and when I say nothing, she was completely naked, using her body as a weak attempt to seduce me.

I shook my head in disbelief.

"You are going fucking crazy Charlotte. I think you need help. How about I call your parents, explain the situation. I'm sure they'll be okay with you going back."

Charlotte dropped to her knees and fiddled with the zipper on my pants. I pushed her away and she put her head into her hands and let out a cry.

"Damnit Japer, why can't you see that me and you were meant to be together? What is so wrong about that?"

"You left me remember?" I spat back at her.

She got up off her knees and headed into the living room. She sat down on her couch and began to sob into her hands.

"I'm sorry," she screamed. "I didn't want to leave you. Mom and Dad were going to cut me off completely if I didn't. It's not like I wanted to leave you."

She cried harder. I went into my closet and grabbed a T-shirt and brought it to her with a pair of my tighty whities that I never wore. She put the garments on, barely lifting herself from the couch. I sat down next to her.

"I think you need to go back to Georgia. We can't do this. I've tried. I put you up in a hotel for a while and it's getting expensive. I'm trying to move on with my life and I think it's time for you to do the same."

She wiped a tear away from her eyes.

"Okay. I'll call my Mom in a bit and tell her I'm coming home."

As I was about to say thanks for making my life easier, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Emmett.

"Hello," I asked as I walked into the other room.

"Jazz, man, I'm glad you answered. Rose is having problems. She's cramping really bad and it's scaring me. I'm taking her to the hospital. I'm on my way to get you."

"I'll be outside waiting."

I walked into the living room where Charlotte still sat.

"Get your clothes back on and go as soon as you can. I've got an emergency with Rose and Emmett."

"Is everything okay," she asked.

"I don't know. Let yourself out okay?"

"Okay," she said as I walked out the door.

**Edward**

I was wrong to do it. I know that no matter what I was doing it for the greater good of my relationship. I sighed and then picked up the telephone.

"Hello," a sexy southern voice answered at the other end.

"Is this Charlotte Whitlock?" I asked nervously.

"Well that was my married name. How may I help you?" she asked.

"My name is Edward, Edward Cullen. I have a proposition for you."


	14. Chapter 14

**~ Indention of the Heart ~**  
**Chapter 13**  
**ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: Don't hate me. Please?**

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**Edward **

"I'm glad you could meet me on such a short notice. How was your flight from Georgia?"

I stared at the woman in front of me, concerned about her. She looked rough, like she hadn't slept in a very long time.

"It was okay. As soon as you mentioned Jasper's name, I had to come see what you could do for me."

I nodded. "I think you and I have something in common. My wife, Bella decided to end our marriage. I let her go out of respect for her, but I miss her dearly and I'll do anything to get her back."

Charlotte scoffed, "Apparently so. So how much are we talking here? This isn't going to be cheap. I had to lie to my boyfriend to come out here. I told him I had a sick aunt that needed tending to."

"Well I was thinking ten grand should cover it. Would you agree?"

She reached into her purse and pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. She wrote down a long number and handed it to me.

"This is my account number for my bank. I'll expect at least five grand in there before I do anything. After you've got your Bella back, I'll expect the other half due to me." She placed the pen back into her bag and zipped it up. I reached into my wallet and placed a twenty on the table for the drinks we ordered.

"I'll stay in touch," I said rising from the table as she stood.

"I just wonder how I'm supposed to get Jasper away from her. If they are as attached at the hip as you say they are, then this won't be easy."

I lifted her chin with my finger and got two inches from her lips. "I'm sure a woman of your beauty can figure it out." She smiled and parted her lips, waiting for me. I dropped her chin and walked away.

**Bella**

I stood at the door of the man I once loved more than anything on this earth. I remembered how his touch made me feel. I remember how the slightest smile would bring my heart to my stomach and back again and I also felt the need to run. I wanted to run back to Jasper and forgive him. I wanted to let him know that no matter what, he could hurt me, and I wouldn't walk away.

Then I realized how stupid that sounded. I wasn't about to play second fiddle to anyone. At least Edward was always faithful to me. He never strayed. He was a bit controlling but it wasn't because he didn't love me.

Hell, what was I doing?

I reached to ring the doorbell and before my finger could hit the button, there stood Edward in the doorway wearing a tight black T-shirt, ripped jeans and his favorite black boots. His hair was a mess and I wanted to straighten it out like I had done so many times before but I stopped myself. I had no right to touch him. He wasn't mine to touch anymore.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" he asked leaning into the doorway.

"I-I... I really don't know why I'm here," I said sadly. Tears began to well up in my eyes and I felt like the biggest fool. I let him go, he didn't want to be with me anymore but by God, what was I supposed to do?

"Are you okay," he said lifting my chin up to meet his gaze.

"No. I'm not okay. I'm screwed. Jasper had some flewzy in his apartment earlier and I, I..."

I burst into a flood of tears. I couldn't help it. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and I couldn't. I felt so alone, so betrayed. I was betrayed not only by Jasper, but my own feelings towards Edward. I didn't love him anymore but I felt the need to be near him.

I didn't have to move. Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me tight against him. He nuzzled his nose into the top of my head like he had done so many times before.

"It's okay baby," he said as I sobbed into his chest. "I've got you and I'm not going to let anyone else ever hurt you again."

Edward pulled me into the living room and shut the door behind us. He led me to the couch and sat me down next to him as I sobbed harder into his shoulder.

"You know, I've always had a great shoulder to cry on," he said.

"I know you have. I'm sorry for coming to you like this. I just didn't know what to do."

"It's okay, I've missed you. It's good to see you again," Edward said looking deep into my eyes.

The spark was still there. That one thing that kept what little bit of a relationship we had going. It was like a magnatism. I felt myself getting closer to him. I wanted to back away but I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

My eyes closed and our lips met. That electricity hit me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. It felt great, but then I felt guilty for kissing him. I couldn't get my feelings under control and I didn't know what to do.

I stood up and dashed out of the house. Edward fled behind me.

"Bella, wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going home. It was a mistake to come here. I'm sorry Edward."

I wasn't exactly ready to go home though. I couldn't face my dad. I called Rosalie's cell phone and she answered, groggily.

"Hello," she answered.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"In the hospital. We had a problem."

I hit the gas and headed straight for her.

**Jasper**

I got to the hospital with Emmett and Rosalie was sitting up in bed watching TV as a monitor beeped next to her.

"Are you okay baby," Emmett said as he dropped beside Rose.

"I'm fine and the baby is okay too. They said I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions. It's really nothing to worry over but they are going to keep me a little bit longer."

I felt a huge sigh of relief fall over me for the both of them. I sat down in the chair adjacent from them and put my head into my hands. I grabbed my cell out of my pocket and realized that Bella had called me a couple of times and I tried calling back but didn't get an answer.

I stayed with Emmett and Rosalie for about another hour and as Rosalie fell asleep, Emmett felt safe to leave her alone. He drove me back to my apartment and as I walked back in the door, Charlotte still sat on my couch. She hadn't even bothered to get dressed or to even leave my place.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" I yelled at her.

"Oh baby, you didn't tell me you had such a cute girl visiting you," she said with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"What the fuck did you do Charlotte?" I asked getting more and more pissed off at her.

"I didn't do anything. She came to the door, I told her you weren't here and she left in a daze. It was quite pitiful if you ask me. Her arm all broken and the stunned look on her face was enough to make me feel sad for her. Where did you find her Jasper?"

"You fucking bitch," I spat at her. "If you did anything to hurt her or to fuck up the one good thing I actually had going for myself, I swear, you will be sorry you ever stepped foot in Washington State."

"Really Jasper. You are pathetic you know. You sucked as husband and right now you are just as pitiful as she is. You two fucking deserve each other. Good luck in fucking getting her back though. That Edward Cullen is one sneaky fucker."

It hit me then. All this was a set-up. Edward brought Charlotte here to ruin Bella and I.

I reached for the lamp next to me and threw it across the room.

"Get the fuck out right now or I will call Bella's dad and have your ass arrested, do you hear me. GET OUT NOW!"

She walked over to the other side of the couch, stripped naked, put a dress back on and grabbed a bag.

"This was definitely worth the ten grand that hottie paid me. Fuck you Jasper. I hope you have fun trying to get her back. I bet she's already in his arms right now and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."

Charlotte slammed the door behind her and I wanted to cry, scream, yell and beat something up.

The first thing I did was call Emmett.

"Hey bro what's going on?"

I broke down the whole story to him.

"Dude, that is some fucked up shit. I can't believe Edward would do something like that. Do you think she's telling the truth?"

"Of course she is. She's that vindictive. I just don't know what to do to get Bella back."

"Go find her, dumb ass. Drive out to Edward's and see if she is there. Then explain to her what happened."

I got off the phone with Emmett and hopped into my Jeep. I set my sights on finding Bella and fixing everything that Charlotte and Edward had done to fuck up the one good thing I had going in my life.


	15. Chapter 15

**~ Indention of the Heart ~**

**Chapter 15**

**ThatPanicGirlE**

**A/N: ****So yeah. It's getting about that time. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I had fun writing it. Thanks to my Team Fire and Ice ladies CereuleanBlue and JenniP for helping me with this. CB is my walking thesaurus and bad ass beta. JenniP helped me learn that casted is a word. Thanks ladies!**

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**Bella **

I drove like a bat out of hell from Edward's place to the hospital. The entire trip, I fought back tears and tried to only think about Rosalie needing me. I wanted to just crawl up into a ball and fade away but I knew that she needed me and I wouldn't let her down.

I couldn't help it though. The vision of the woman, half naked in Jasper's doorway kept flashing in my mind. I wanted so bad to let it go. I couldn't do it.

I pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and jumped out the car. I found Rosalie's room and she was fast asleep. Emmett sat next to her, holding her hand with tears in his eyes.

"Oh God, Emmett. Is everything okay?" I asked him, squatting next to him.

"She's fine and the baby's fine," he said wiping a tear away.

"Thank God for that. Why are you crying then?" I asked him.

"I was just so worried. I just knew we were losing the baby and I couldn't even imagine how much it would have killed her for that to happen."

I loved how much Emmett cared, not just about his wife, but about everyone in general.

"I'm glad everything's okay," I said standing.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I walked over to grab another chair. I sat it down next to him and fell into it.

"I, I don't know what I am right now."

"You look like you've been through hell and back, Bells."

_If you only knew buddy._

"I'm just exhausted from the day. I think I'm still not on top of this mobility thing," holding up my casted arm.

Emmett smiled. "You should be used to that by now. Is there anything else going on?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Jasper told me that he came home to Charlotte naked, trying to seduce him."

My jaw dropped. "Wait, you mean... he's not back with her?"

"Fuck no!" Emmett bellowed. Realizing he was too loud he lowered his voice. "I think you need to have a conversation with Edward."

"Why what did he do?"

"According to what Jasper told me, Edward paid Charlotte off and tried to get her to break the two of you up."

My face must have turned 200 different shades of red. "Edward Cullen did what? That fucker," I yelled jumping up.

"Where is Jasper now?" I said slamming the chair across the room, waking Rosalie up.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Edward is so fucking stupid!" I said.

"I think Jasper went looking for you. He said something about going to see Edward."

"Fuck, I've got to go," I said, grabbing my purse and heading to the door. I stopped for one second and turned around.

"I'm glad you are okay Rosalie. I'm sorry to wake you up."

"It's okay sweetie. Go find Jasper!" she said.

I ran out of the hospital towards my car. I shuffled around in my purse and dropped my keys onto the ground. I was so nervous and angry I couldn't even see straight. I finally got into my car and sat for a minute, trying to collect myself. I wanted to kick Edward so hard for what he had done.

**Jasper**

I had the speedometer locked as I raced towards Edward Cullens' house. I was prepared to fight him this time. There was no stopping me.

I pulled into the driveway and sat for a moment, trying to collect myself. I was completely enraged and I knew a fight was coming. I saw nothing but spots in front of my eyes and I got lightheaded.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the real reason I was here in the first place.

I envisioned Bella back in Edward's arms. The thought scared me more than anything in the world and I couldn't let her go. She deserved better than to be tricked back into his arms.

I opened my eyes and opened the car door. I prepared myself for what I would say. I rehearsed it in my head all the way up the steps.

I rang the doorbell and waited. My fist balled up and I felt rage like I'd never felt before.

Patience wasn't exactly my greatest virtue but I tried. I heard the door click and before me stood the one man who could destroy my dreams. I was going to make sure that he didn't do that.

"Can I help... what the hell are you doing here Whitlock?" he asked flinging the door open.

"What the fuck gives you the right to try to break up my relationship with Bella? Why can't you just move on?" I asked getting into his face.

"Jasper, if I were you, I would back off before you got hurt."

"Fuck that, you need to call Bella and tell her the truth. She thinks that I've left her for Charlotte. She needs to know that you are responsible for this shit, not me."

"What makes you think I'll do that?" he asked leaning closer into me.

"You'll do it because if you don't, you'll hurt Bella. You know you will. Can't you see you've done enough to the girl? Can't you see all the things I've had to undo that you've done to her? This isn't fair to her. Just let her go, for the love of all that is good in this world, let her be happy."

Edward stood in my face, huffing. He was ready to strike, I could see it in his eyes.

"And if I don't?" he asked.

"Then I'll just have to make you."

Edward leaned back, squeezing his chin in his hands. I didn't even realize he'd decked me until I felt the stinging on my chin.

I hit the cement with a thud. I quickly stood up and ran straight for him, clipping him in the waist. We fell into his house and I was on top of him, punching him as hard as my arms would allow me to. I made direct contact with his jaw and the shit hurt worse than anything my hands had ever felt before. I knew that I had done some sort of damage to my own hand but I couldn't help it.

One of my punches hit his nose and blood flew to the left. I would have kept going too if it wasn't for a voice behind me screaming for me to stop.

"Jasper, quit it, stop please," the voice was yelling from behind me.

I stopped long enough to look behind me. Bella was standing in the driveway, hand on her mouth sobbing uncontrollably. I stood up from Edward and watched him wipe blood from his face. I stepped backwards, giving him room to stand up.

"Get up," I spat at him.

Edward stood and walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed a towel, placing it on his nose.

Bella ran up to me as I checked my hand. I wiped Edward's blood on my shirt and assessed the damage. My knuckles were sore, but I didn't see anything too damaging.

"What the hell was that all about?" she asked.

"I came here to talk to Edward. I didn't expect him to pussy out and deck me."

She glared at Edward. "You know, if you spent half the time you use in your life to make my life miserable instead of finding someone else, you wouldn't have to worry about shit like this."

"Bella, really, I didn't mean to honestly. He got in my face and was threatening me."

"That gives you a reason to punch him?"

"I... I, fuck Bella I don't know," he said nasily through the cloth he held to his face.

"No it doesn't. I also want to know what the fuck makes you think that paying someone to break me and Jasper up was the brightest idea in the world."

I stared at Bella with my mouth open.

"Emmett told me what happened."

I needed to thank him later.

"Bella, please you have to understand why I did it," Edward begged.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say anymore Edward Cullen. As far as I'm concerned, you and I will cease to communicate with one another. If I'm ever at Rosalie and Emmett's house, I don't want you within a hundred feet of their property. Me and you, we're through." With that, Bella turned and walked away. I waved, still rubbing my jaw at Edward and walked over to where Bella stood at her car. She was shaking her head."

"Bella, I'm sorry," I said reaching my arms out to her.

"Oh no Jasper, don't think you are off the hook so easily. Why didn't you tell me what was going on? How long had she been in town?"

"A couple of days," I regretfully said.

"A couple of days and you couldn't tell me what was going on? I've been crying my eyes out all day today under the assumption that you had left me for her and all it took was one simple phone call to tell me what was really going on."

"Bella, I didn't tell you because I knew how you would react, just like this in fact."

"Do you think it was worse to keep it from me?" she asked giving me a cold look.

"I don't know what I thought. I freaked out. I wasn't expecting her to come here and she just showed up all the sudden. What was I supposed to do?"

She wouldn't look at me. "Tell the truth."

"Okay, I screwed up, I'm sorry," I said trying to pull her closer to me. She kicked me in the shin.

"Just because you didn't do anything bad enough for me to dump you doesn't mean I'm not mad at you still."

I stood, grabbing my leg in pain as she opened her car door and drove off.

I could have sworn I saw Edward standing in his doorway laughing at me.

**Bella**

I burst into tears as soon as I left Edward's driveway. It wasn't something I had planned on doing but as soon as I realized that maybe he was keeping Charlotte's arrival a secret from me, I had to

make sure he wasn't. Much to my disappointment, he was keeping it a secret.

I drove home, watching the rain pelt my window and as I pulled in the driveway of my dad's house, I burst out into laughter at the thought of Jasper hopping on one leg after I kicked him. He was so sweet and all he was trying to do was keep the peace. I couldn't torture him anymore.

I sent him a brief text.

_Not mad anymore. Come over, please?_

I shut the door to my car and waited inside on him to arrive.

Time seemed to fly by so slowly. I watched TV and then threw the remote down on the coffee table after two hours had gone by. Maybe he didn't get the text. I sent another one and still had no response. I waited around for another hour and he had not responded by the time I was getting ready for bed.

I threw on my flannel footie pajamas and pulled my hair up into a bun. I must have made him so angry with me. I know I kicked him but I had every single right to do so.

I sank down deep into my mattress and covers and closed my eyes. I could only think of Jasper's effort to put his arms around me and I wanted him to come over so bad. I owed him a huge apology and despite my efforts to push him to the back of my mind, he kept creeping back towards me.

I fell asleep, holding onto the smile on his face that I loved so much.

I was dreaming. I had to be. There was no way on earth he could be putting his arms around me, holding me close to him. He planted a kiss on my forehead and said, "all is forgiven Bella. I love you dearly."

I whispered, "I love you too Jasper. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, love," he said whispering in my ear. I felt his hand softly stroke my cheek and I melted.

I opened my eyes and laying beside me in my bed was Jasper. He was wearing a pair of jeans that fit him tightly, a black tank top and his hair was pulled back. He looked so beautiful in the moonlight that shone through my dark windows.

"How did you get in?" I asked.

"The same way I did before, through the window. You know, you should really lock that thing. Next time you wake up, it may not be me in the bed with you."

I smiled sleepily. "Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind for the next time."

We fell silent, staring at each other and I wanted to say I was sorry.

"You know, I think we deserve a break," he said before I could say anything. "We've had nothing but drama since you came back into Forks. I'm in no way shape or form blaming you, but we've had a time for sure. How about I take you to Seattle next weekend? We'll have dinner and take in a movie or a musical. We need something."

"I'd like that," I said, staring at him.

"What?" he said.

"I'm just waiting for you to disappear. I just knew you were gone, you know, left me for Charlotte."

"Do you not understand how much you mean to me Bella?"

I blushed. "I'm pretty sure I know," I said holding his hand in mine, stroking the spot where he bruised his knuckle for me.

"I've been trying to find a way to show you for so long. I mean I know I told you, but I don't think it's enough. I wish I could find some way to show you."

I reached over and grabbed his face in my hand and placed a small kiss on the side of his mouth. I pulled away as he put his hand on the back of my neck. He pulled me back to him, his lips crashing on mine. We became a tangled mess of lips and as I ran my tongue over the edge of his top lip, he moaned into mine.

"Bella, my God do I want you."

I felt my body shiver at the sound of his voice. I wanted him just as much and when he flung the covers off me, he stopped for a second.

I had completely forgotten about the footie pajamas I had put on before bed.

"What the hell Bella?" he said trying so hard not to laugh.

"What, I was cold," I blurted out.

"I'm sorry," he said as he put his hand to his mouth, muffling a laugh.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. I reached for my zipper and in one quick sweep I was standing in only my boy shorts underwear. Jasper's jaw dropped and said, "Well that is definitely an improvement."

He scooted towards the edge of his my bed and sat, feet planted on the floor. I walked over to him as he wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his head against my chest. I played with his ponytail as he listened to my heartbeat. I pulled away from him, staring into his eyes.

Jasper grabbed one of my breasts in his hand and started to fondle my nipple with his thumb. He nudged forward and began licking it with the tip of his tongue, then entirely consuming it into his mouth as he sucked hard. I let out a moan as his other hand grabbed my ass.

I threw my head back, enjoying the way his teeth felt on me and I was certain he could make me cum with just his tongue on my nipple. He stopped briefly, looking up at me. I dropped to my knees and unbuttoned his pants. I wasn't expecting him to be commando, but his hard cock fell out like a red carpet unrolling for me. He stood, removing his pants and shirt.

Jaspers fingers found the line of my underwear and slowly pushed them down my waist. His fingers gently ran up the side of my thigh, sending shivers up my body. I had to have him inside of me. It had been far too long since someone made love to me. I was glad that Jasper was going to be the one to finally make me feel complete and whole again.

He scooted back onto the bed as I crawled towards him. His eyes stayed locked on mine as I hovered on top of him. His fingers traveled slowly between my legs and as his fingers traced the outside of my entrance, I moaned again. I loved being teased. He then slowly ran a finger along my slit, entering me slowly. His fingers played softly inside of me while his tongue ran across both my nipples. He then slipped another finger in me, making me ready to take him.

He slipped out of me and placed his hands on my hips. I positioned myself on top of him as he entered me slowly. I took a moment to adjust to him being inside of me and I wanted to cry I was so happy that he was finally making me his.

My hips rocked on top of him as he went deeper and deeper into me. His hard cock found that one spot and each time he would hit it, the sheer ecstasy of him being inside of me sent me over the edge. I felt my legs quiver as he bowed his back up, making himself go deeper into me.

"Ungh, Japser," I said as his cock hit that spot again. "Fuck baby, you feel so good inside of me."

"Bella, if you only knew how good you felt on top of me," he said as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

My body rocked on top of his, not wanting to stop. The more I pushed on him, the more he pushed back. I felt like he was trying to crawl inside of me, a thing I wouldn't have minded.

He rolled me over onto my back and began to slowly enter me from top. His eyes stayed locked in mine and we were making love. I could see it in his eyes then. I could see how much he loved me, how much he wanted me and how much he never wanted to lose me. He buried his face into my shoulder and said, "Bella, baby, please, you feel so good. Cum for me baby, I need to release.

Please."

As if on command, my body released and I let myself go. My legs quivered hard, my nails dug into his back as I felt my body extinguish every single bit of aggression and pain I'd felt for months.

That was Jasper's cue to finish too and as he released inside me, I could feel his aggravation and suffering vanishing too. We were each other's emancipation from our demons.

I couldn't have asked for anything more.


	16. Epilogue

**A/N: It was my intention all along to do an epilogue for this story. I left it alone for quite sometime and then realized how much fun I actually had writing this story. I don't want it to end. Thanks to you, my readers for sticking with it and with me when I went through a horrible bout of writer's block and couldn't find it in me to write anymore. A huge thanks needs to be given to my Team Fire and Ice members and to everyone who commented or recommended this to their friends. You are the best part of what makes fan fiction so awesome.**

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Months have gone by since the last time I saw Edward Cullen. I would say good riddance but I don't want to be mean, despite the things he said and did to me. It was a roller coaster of a relationship and one ride I was glad to finally be finished with.

Jasper on the other hand, was a completely different situation. He was my life now, and I'd never felt so sure or so happy about anything in my life.

Charlotte moved back to Georgia and we've haven't heard hide nor hair of her either in months. I hope she stays there and stays out of our lives. So far, everything seems to be okay.

I woke up this morning completely forgetting that school was officially out. My scars and battle wounds from my wreck were all healed, and the pain and scars from my heart were finally mended. I stretched wide and accidentally hit Jasper in the nose with my fist.

"Ouch!" he screamed.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry!" I reached for his face and kissed his nose, his forehead and then his lips.

"What a way to wake up he said," and laughed. I smiled at him and caught myself staring again. He was the epitome of beauty lying next to me. I wanted to hold him tight and never let him go.

"I'm so sorry," I said giggling. "I'll make it up to you. Do you want breakfast?"

"Actually no, I need to get going. I have to be over at Emmett and Rosalie's to help with some more renovations.

"That's cool," I said. "I need to go see her anyway. She's been so busy with the baby that she's barely had time to call me."

"I'll drop you off, if you'd like. I have to run into town first."

"Sure," I said.

I got up and dressed with Jasper and headed out to the estate. Jasper kissed me goodbye and headed on his way. I walked up to the door and knocked once. Rosalie came right away and stood at me, looking concerned.

"Oh, wow Bella, I had no idea you were on your way. I wish you would have called."

I looked around and saw the reason why. Edward's car was parked in the second garage. It was too late to call Jasper to come get me and I wasn't about to wait on the steps.

"I'm okay if he is," I said bluntly.

"I'm sure it'll be okay. Come on in. I've been dying to show you what we've done to our bedroom."

I walked into the familiar house. They had done so much work and the bedroom was the latest to get done.

We went into the kitchen and I sat at the table.

"Hungry? I just made a bunch of scrambled eggs and sausage. Plus I have fresh squeezed orange juice." No sooner had the words left her mouth then the baby monitor went off. You could hear little Emmy crying. My heart broke and I quickly realized that my biological clock was ticking. I wonder how Jasper felt about kids. I never even asked him.

"I'll be right back," she said. I stood at the sink and searched for a glass to pour a glass of juice when I heard my name.

"Hello Bella," a voice said from behind me. I quickly turned and saw Edward standing in the doorway. He looked good. His hair was shorter, his clothes were a little more laid back and there was something about his face. He seemed, happier.

"Hi Edward," I said back. "How have you been?"

"I've been okay. Working a lot. How's school?"

"Out, thank God. I didn't know if I could handle another day of school this year."

"I bet," he said running his fingers through his hair. "You look good," he said. "I've been wondering how you've been."

I smiled. This was the Edward I could get along with. When he was being sincere, he wasn't that much of an asshole.

"I've been doing wonderful. I bought a house, and a new car. Things seem to be picking up for me," I said.

He smiled. "I'm glad. That's all I ever wanted for you," he said. His eyes hit the floor and I could tell that something was bothering him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Do you ever just wonder, if I hadn't have been such a dick to you, do you think you still would be with me?"

I thought about it for a minute. I never heard Edward admit to anything. "I really think that if you'd treated me as a woman, someone you loved, not someone you owned, I would have been."

He smiled, "I guess I deserve that. I guess that I just thought that if I lost control with you, that you'd leave me and in the end I drove you out of my life. I've been going to therapy lately."

"Really?" I asked. The thought of him seeking help for his issues never seemed to be something he would do.

"I've learned a lot about myself and the things I've done to you. I wish there was some way I could make it up to you. I figured the best thing was for me to leave you alone, let you have your own life. The reality of it is though, I miss you, tons."

My heart felt heavy. I wanted to say that I understood and that I accepted his apology, even if it was one or not. I wanted to reach out to him and tell him that everything was okay and that I secretly missed him too, but it was too late for the two of us to make it.

"Edward, I… I wish I could say that I miss you like that too but it's not the case. I look at you today and I still see the Edward who treated me bad, the Edward who wouldn't let me have my own life and I just don't think I could deal with that."

He nodded, "I understand."

I felt the tension in the room go up ten fold. "I guess I'll leave you for now," he said as he turned to leave the kitchen. He stopped for a moment and looked back at me.

"Bella Swan, you are the only girl I ever loved, and if it takes a century to show you how much you meant to me, I'll keep trying. I can't let you go this easily."

He walked out and I had a feeling that my days with Edward Cullen wouldn't come to an end just yet.

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**A/N: Does this mean sequel in the future? Maybe. Right now I just want to concentrate on a new fic I'm working on entitled "Driving in Moonshine." Until then, I'll get my ducks in a row… who knows… you may end up with a sequel to Indention.**


	17. Broken Open

**Broken Open**

**The sequel to "Indention of the Heart"**

**ThatPanicGirle**

**A/N: I pondered, and thought, and pondered some more about what I wanted to do with the sequel or whether or not it would happen. I like the idea of continuing this story and I've had a couple of PMs asking for it. It will be a slow progression, but it will happen. Just don't give up on me. I'm not exactly the most punctual poster or writer, but when the idea hits me, I will write it out. Thanks to everyone for bearing with me throughout "Indention" and I look forward to finishing the saga of Edward/Bella & Bella/Jasper.**

**And now for "Broken Open." Adam Lambert, you made this possible. Too bad you'll never know it.**

**(All material, people, persons and places are the sole property of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. Don't worry, I promise to NOT copyright any of this. On my Girl Scout's honor.)**

_I know the battles of chasing the shadows of who you wanna be_

_It doesn't matter, go on and shatter_

_I'm all you need_

_Broken pieces, break into me_

_So imperfectly what you should be_

_Lay here, it's safe here, I'll let you be broken open_

_Hide here, confide here so we can be broken open_

Broken Open - Adam Lambert

_"Bella Swan, you are the only girl I ever loved, and if it takes a century to show you how much you meant to me, I'll keep trying. I can't let you go this easily."_

_He walked out and I had a feeling that my days with Edward Cullen wouldn't come to an end just yet._

**Edward**

The worst pain in the world to feel is knowing when you have fucked up. I know this pain and I want it to go away but I have no choice but to endure it. I know in my heart that the things I've done were completely stupid. I've had issues with letting go of things for far too long. When my parents passed away, I was left holding onto their memory and when Bella came into my life, I was worried. I wanted her to stay with me forever and I couldn't bare to lose her too. In the end, all the possessiveness pushed her away. She was happy with Jasper and as much as it pained me, I thought I could let her be happy. I now know that I'll stop at nothing to make her see that I love her and that I want to be with her.

No more games.

This has to be changed Edward or else this will fail.

So I sit here in Seattle, looking over the city, trying to figure out the best way to get her back in my life. I heard word today from Alice that things are moving fast in Forks and I've got to get back home before Bella makes up her mind about the man she wants in her life.

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_**Once this chapter is complete, I'll post it as "Broken Open."**_

_**Thanks everyone!**_


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